Paraguay (República del Paraguay; Tetä Paraguáype) is a presidential republic located in the central-southern part of South America, bordered to the north by Bolivia, to the east by Brazil, to the south and to the west by Argentina. Asunción, the capital, located on the left bank of the Río Paraguay is the only real city in the country, and a major river port. The territory is divided, from the river Paraguay, in two separate regions, to the west lies the Gran Chaco, a large steppe and marshland tableland, while to the east lies the Paraneña or eastern Paraguay, a hilly area of average height between 300 and 600 meters, in this second region live almost the entire population of the country.

The most important rivers are Paraguay, which crosses the country, and Paraná, on the border with Brazil and Argentina. Along the river Paraná, in 1984, was built in ownership between Paraguay and Brazil, the colossal Itaipú dam, which is the largest operational hydroelectric power plant in the world. Another large hydroelectric power plant, always along the Paraná, is that of Yacyretá, and it's jointly owned between Paraguay and Argentina.