Paraguayans

the basic population of Paraguay, constituting approximately 99 percent of all inhabitants. Paraguayans number approximately 2.6 million (1973, estimate). The Paraguayan people as a distinct ethnic entity developed primarily in the 17th and 18th centuries as a result of the intermixing of Guarani Indians and descendants of the Spanish conquerors. In an anthropological sense, Paraguayans are primarily mestizos. More than half are bilingual, speaking both Spanish and Guarani; a small number speak only Spanish, and the rest only Guarani. Paraguayans are Catholics by religion.