Apparent labor productivity in Paraguay, measured by nominal GDP divided by the workforce, stands at US$13,728 per person, placing the country below eight Latin American nations. With a nominal GDP of US$48.443 billion and a workforce of 3,528,780 people, Paraguay surpasses only Bolivia, which records US$7,518, trailing behind countries such as Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Suriname, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
This indicator reveals a structural weakness: despite macroeconomic stability, low inflation, and sustained growth, Paraguay has yet to translate that growth into high per-worker productivity. This limits the generation of better wages, greater job formality, and a more solid tax base.
The contrast with Uruguay is striking. With a smaller workforce of 1,806,025 people, Uruguay has a nominal GDP nearly double that of Paraguay, at US$85.575 billion, resulting in a labor productivity of US$47,383, more than three times higher. This difference reflects an economy with greater value added, more developed services, more advanced labor formality, and stronger institutions.
Chile also shows higher productivity, at US$34,413 per worker, the result of a nominal GDP of US$355.350 billion and a workforce of 10,326,080 people. The gap is not solely due to the size of the economy but to greater capital accumulation, infrastructure, high-value mining, modern services, and greater trade openness.
Guyana, with a productivity of US$82,947, is an extreme case driven by the influence of the oil sector, which is capital-intensive rather than labor-intensive, rapidly boosting GDP per worker. Nevertheless, the figure highlights how high-value sectors can drive productivity, something Paraguay has not yet fully achieved, despite its competitive agricultural output and abundant energy supply.
The challenge for Paraguay is not just to grow but to improve the quality of that growth. The economy can expand through agriculture, commerce, or construction, but without incorporating technology, training, innovation, infrastructure, and industrial linkages, productivity will remain low. The country still has room to advance in technical education, labor formalization, private investment, logistics, digitalization, and industrial development.
Without this leap, Paraguay will continue to grow, but with low wages, high informality, and a persistent gap relative to its more productive neighbors.