Paraguay's transportation system ranges from adequate to poor, largely depending on the region of the country. The country has a network of roads, railroads, rivers, and airports, but significant infrastructure and regulation improvements are needed.
Estimates vary on the total extent of Paraguay's road system, from more than to less than. The discrepancies seem to be the result of differing standards regarding what constitutes a road. Thousands of kilometers of unpaved rural roads exist. Paraguay has about of paved, major feeder roads. The core network connects Asunción, Encarnación, and Ciudad del Este. The Trans-Chaco highway is only partially finished, the paved portion ending at Mariscal Estigarribia. Bolivias portion of the highway, in contrast, is entirely paved. For trade purposes, the paved highways from Ciudad del Este to the Brazilian port of Paranaguá are particularly important. Additionally, the roads connecting Paraguay to Buenos Aires are adequate. * Estimated
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Railways
The government owns the country's sole railroad company, including a line from Asunción to Encarnación. An effort to privatize the company in 2002 failed when no buyer could be secured because of the steep investment required to make the line profitable. Currently, only a small section of the line is open. It is used for tourist traffic. Paraguay's railroads operate on a standard 1.435-meter gauge. The total length of rail in Paraguay is. of that is standard gauge at. Another is narrow gauge at, and of the total railway is privately owned.
Inland waterways
Paraguay has of inland waterways. The Paraguay and Paraná are the country's two main rivers. The Paraguay River, with headwaters at Mato Grosso, Brazil, flows southward, converging with the Paraná in southwestern Paraguay, and then flowing to the Río de la Plata estuary in Argentina, the entrance for the great majority of ships servicing Paraguay's ports.
Ports and harbors
, located south of Asunción, serves as Paraguay's primary port. Asunción, long the country's only modern port, Encarnación, and San Antonio serve as the country's other major ports. Paraguay's ports are split between state and private ownership. The country's twenty private ports, however, are far more efficient, handling nearly 90% of soybean exports.
Paraguay has 878 airports but only 12 with paved runways and only two that can receive four-engine commercial airplanes. The airport serving Asunción, located at Silvio Pettirossi, is the country's major airport for international and domestic flights. The new Guaraní International Airport, located near Ciudad del Este and the Brazilian border, has been unable to compete with the nearby international airport at Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. Improvements in technology are needed to bring Paraguay's airports up to international standards. Paraguay privatized the state-owned Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas in 1994.
