Is Paraguay in debt?
Far less than the West. Households owe banks and finance companies about USD 8.6 bn, roughly 17 % of GDP (Belgium 57 %, the US 69 %); the state owes 38 % of GDP (Belgium 108 %, the US 124 %). Most bank credit goes to companies, above all farming, cattle and trade, and the system lends about what it takes in: USD 33.7 bn of loans against USD 33.5 bn of deposits (1.01 to 1).
What everyone owes the banks and finance companies (2026-09)
| Borrower | Owed | Share | % of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer loans (households) | USD 6.7 bn | 20 % | 13.5 % |
| Agriculture | USD 4.8 bn | 14 % | 9.7 % |
| Services | USD 4.5 bn | 13 % | 9.0 % |
| Wholesale trade | USD 4.4 bn | 13 % | 9.0 % |
| Industry | USD 3.0 bn | 9 % | 6.0 % |
| Cattle | USD 2.4 bn | 7 % | 4.9 % |
| Retail trade | USD 2.0 bn | 6 % | 4.0 % |
| Mortgages (households) | USD 1.9 bn | 6 % | 3.9 % |
| Financial sector | USD 1.2 bn | 4 % | 2.4 % |
| Construction | USD 984 M | 3 % | 2.0 % |
| Real estate | USD 907 M | 3 % | 1.8 % |
| Public administration | USD 656 M | 2 % | 1.3 % |
| Other | USD 364 M | 1 % | 0.7 % |
| Total | USD 33.7 bn | 100 % | 68 % |
GDP USD 49.3 bn (2025, World Bank). Not included: savings-and-credit cooperatives (supervised by INCOOP, not the central bank), which lend mostly to households, so household debt is somewhat higher than shown; credit cards are inside consumer loans.
Against other countries (% of GDP)
| Country | Household debt | Government debt | Credit to the private sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | ~17 % (banks and finance companies; cooperatives add more) | 38 % | 56 % |
| Belgium | 57 % | 108 % | 68 % |
| United States | 69 % | 124 % | 201 % |
| Brazil | 36 % | 93 % | 75 % |
| Argentina | 5 % | 80 % | 18 % |
IMF Global Debt Database (households, 2024) and World Economic Outlook (general government, 2025); World Bank (domestic credit to the private sector, latest year). Paraguay's household figure is computed here from the central bank's loans by sector.
The average account
9,222,604 deposit accounts held USD 21.5 bn in 2024-10: about USD 2,332 per account (₲ 18,360,665). That is an average, pulled up by a few large accounts: most accounts hold far less, and many people have several accounts, so the typical saver's balance is much lower. Banks do not publish the number of accounts each, so this is for the whole system only. Deposits are guaranteed up to ₲ 217,428,600 (USD 37.3 k) per person and entity.
Accounts: Banco Central del Paraguay via Última Hora: deposit accounts in banks and finance companies. Deposits and loans: Banco Central del Paraguay, monthly returns of banks and finance companies.