Official data show the makeup of Paraguay’s manufacturing industry

Paraguay’s National Statistics Institute has published a snapshot of the country’s manufacturing sector to mark National Industry Day on September 8.

The data come from the General Directory of Companies and Establishments, whose reference year is 2024. The directory identified 497,675 active companies across the sectors covered. It includes active businesses with a taxpayer identification number, known as an RUC.

Services accounted for 46.2% of the companies listed, commerce for 40.7% and industry for 13.1%. Within the industrial group, manufacturing companies numbered 37,248 and represented 7.5% of the total. Construction accounted for 5.5%, while other industrial activities represented 0.1%.

The statistics institute divided manufacturing into 24 economic activities under Paraguay’s national classification system. The largest groups were fabricated metal products, excluding machinery and equipment, at 19.3%; clothing production at 14.6%; and food manufacturing at 12.2%. Furniture accounted for 9%, printing and recording-related support services for 8.4%, wood and cork products excluding furniture for 7.4%, and machinery and equipment maintenance, repair and installation for 6.2%. Other manufacturing activities made up 22.9%.

Microenterprises dominated the sector, accounting for 74.8%, or 27,870 businesses. Small firms represented 8.2%, with 3,036 companies, while medium-sized firms accounted for 2.1%, with 781. Large companies represented 2.4%, or 887 firms. Another 4,674 companies, or 12.5%, had no reported size classification. The institute also said 67.8% of manufacturing companies were concentrated in three areas of the country, although the supplied report ends before identifying them.