Paraguay’s progress over the past twenty years is remarkable. Poverty rates declined by more than 30 percentage points between 2003 and 2024, lifting hundreds of thousands of families out of poverty, and expanding access to basic services, laying a foundation for broad-based development. Yet, the new Monetary Poverty Map released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), built collaboratively with the technical support of the World Bank, reveals that much work remains—especially in the most deprived regions.
For the first time in over two decades, Paraguay has unveiled a district- and neighborhood-level monetary poverty map, covering all 263 districts and 67 neighborhoods of Asunción. The map applies small-area estimation techniques that combine the 2022 National Population and Housing Census with the 2023 Continuous Permanent Household Survey (EPHC). This methodological progress marks a turning point in the country’s approach to poverty assessment. The map’s color gradients—ranging from light green (low poverty) to dark green (high poverty)—reveal stark disparities across regions. In districts such as Alto Paraguay and San Pedro, early one in two residents still live in monetary poverty, compared with less than one in ten parts of Central and the capital.
But this is more than a technical feat. The new poverty map is a strategic compass for public action, enabling policymakers, development partners, and the private sector to target resources and interventions with unprecedented precision. It places Paraguay at the forefront of territorial analysis in Latin America, setting a new standard for evidence-based development planning.
Beyond Monetary Poverty: A Multidimensional Lens
The analysis goes further, advocating for a multidimensional understanding of poverty. By combining monetary poverty data with the Unsatisfied Basic Needs (NBI) index, the map classifies Paraguay’s territories into four distinct groups, each requiring tailored strategies:
High Poverty + Better Conditions: Areas where economic challenges predominate, calling for job creation and income support.
High Poverty + High Deprivation: The most critical zones, where urgent, integrated interventions are needed to address both economic and structural deficits.
Low Poverty + Low Deprivation: Success stories that require consolidation and resilience-building to prevent setbacks.
Low Poverty + Structural Gaps: Regions with low monetary poverty but significant deficits in infrastructure and services, demanding targeted investments in public goods.
This nuanced approach recognizes that poverty is not monolithic. The map’s visual narrative makes clear that a one-size-fits-all strategy is inadequate; instead, Paraguay needs geographically targeted, data-driven solutions that reflect the complex realities of its people.
