Misiones Department Departamento de Misiones | |
|---|---|
| Misiones shown in red | |
| Coordinates: 26°38′S57°10′W / 26.633°S 57.167°W | |
| Country | |
| Region | Eastern Region |
| Established | 1906 |
| Capital | San Juan Bautista |
| Largest city | San Ignacio |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Richard Ramírez (ANR) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9,556 km2 (3,690 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 12 |
| Population (2016) [1] | |
| • Total | 129,787 |
| • Rank | 14 |
| • Density | 14/km2 (35/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-04 (AST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-03 (ADT) |
| ISO 3166 code | PY-8 |
| Number of Districts | 10 |
| Website | www.misiones.gov.py |
Misiones (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈsjo.nes] ) is a department located in the southern region of Paraguay. Its capital is San Juan Bautista. The eighth of Paraguay's 17 departments, it was created in 1906, then known as the San Ignacio Department, and was not given its present name until 1945. Its current name reflects its status as home to several Jesuit Reductions, or missions.
Misiones borders the departments of Paraguarí and Caazapá to the north, Itapúa to the east, Ñeembucú to the west, and the Corrientes Province of Argentina to the south.
The modern settling of Misiones began with the arrival of Jesuit missionaries to the region in the 17th century and the subsequent establishment of several reductions whose purpose was to both civilize and catechize the indigenous Guaraní peoples. While several of these reductions would ultimately be in Argentinian and Brazilian territory, 8 of the reductions would remain in Paraguay, concentrated in what would become the Misiones and Itapúa departments. Some of these reductions, namely San Ignacio Guazú, Santa Maria de Fe and Santiago would become the foundation for subsequent towns in Misiones.
The town of Yabebyry was established in 1790, and later, during the presidency of Carlos Antonio López, the towns of San Miguel and San Juan Bautista were founded. When the Misiones department was created in 1906 as the San Ignacio department, these towns were made several of the department's first 8 districts, along with Santa Rosa, Ayolas and Villa Florida. When the department was renamed in 1945, its capital was moved from San Ignacio to San Juan Bautista.
Misiones department is relatively flat and crossed by a number of rivers and streams. The northern and southern borders of the department are formed by, respectively, the Tebicuary and the Paraná rivers, the latter of which is an important waterway in the region. A number of other streams cross the department, including the Yabebyry, Atingui, San Roque, Sauce, Uruguay, Ca'a Po'i, Tororo, San Tadeo, San Antonio and Itay.
The department is divided into ten districts:
| District | Area (km²) | Population (2021) [2] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayolas | 1,060 | 19,265 | |
| San Ignacio | 2,020 | 35,497 | |
| San Juan Bautista | 2,300 | 24,484 | |
| San Miguel | 540 | 6,075 | |
| San Patricio | 190 | 3,758 | |
| Santa María | 520 | 9,146 | |
| Santa Rosa | 1,010 | 18,558 | |
| Santiago | 740 | 6,532 | |
| Villa Florida | 196 | 3,787 | |
| Yabebyry | 984 | 2,683 |
The main economic activities are livestock raising and agriculture. Cattle are the most common livestock, and pigs, sheep, horses, and goats are common as well. Agriculture is widely practiced, with fields mainly in the north and center of the department. The main crops are rice, soya, corn, sweet oranges, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cotton.
Misiones is connected to Asunción and Encarnación via national route PY01 which passes through 6 of the 10 districts: Villa Florida, San Miguel, San Juan Bautista, San Ignacio, Santa Rosa and San Patricio, it even passes through the district of Santiago, but not by its urban area.
The national routes PY04 and PY20 connects Misiones with neighbor Ñeembucú department.
All ten districts urban areas are accessible by paved road.
Small airports are located in San Juan Bautista and Ayolas (Juan de Ayolas Airport) to the south.
The southern part of the department is accessible to the Paraná River, which is navigable by large cargo ships downstream of the Yacyretá Dam near Ayolas.
There are numerous institutions which provide Pre-school Education, Elementary and Highschool . with Technical and Scientific emphasis.
Its main attractions are the beaches formed by the rivers Paraná and Tebicuary. Villa Florida is a city which offers landscapes to its visitors. This department is known by the work of evangelizing by the Jesuits priests who founded the place with many reductions. A few towns still have the remains of that era such as the colonial churches.
Part of the historical remains is exposed in Museums with many samples of wooden carvings made by the Indians at the reductions period.
Caazapá is a department in Paraguay. The capital is the city of Caazapá. Among Paraguayans, the department is well known for its orange and mandarin trees, and for its forest hills. The eastern part of Caazapá is relatively undeveloped and consists of rolling hills and large swaths of Brazilian Atlantic interior rainforest between the San Rafael mountains to the south and the Ybytyruzú mountains to the north. The western part is an area of low-lying marshes and swampland area, and consists of wetlands and tributaries to eastern Paraguay's largest river, the Tebicuary. Many indigenous groups make their home in what remains of the rainforest, especially south of the unpaved highway between San Juan Nepomuceno and Tavaí. Mby'a and Guayaki people, who practice farming corn, cassava and yerba mate under the canopy of the forest live in small bands and travel mainly by foot. They are technically protected and their land is a national reserve, but illegal loggers, ranchers, and more recently, Brazilian soybean growers have encroached upon their territory. With Paraguay's weak legal infrastructure, little can be done by way of enforcement or sanctions.
Central is a department in Paraguay. The capital is Areguá. With 2,243,792 inhabitants, it is the most populated and the smallest of the 17 departments of Paraguay.
Guairá is a department in Paraguay. The capital is the city of Villarrica.
Ñeembucú is a department located in the south of the Eastern Region of Paraguay. The capital is Pilar. The department is almost entirely rural, and is home to some of the oldest and best-preserved Jesuit ruins, which are located near the town of Humaitá.
Paraguarí is a departamento in Paraguay. At the 2002 census it had a population of 221,932. The capital is the city of Paraguarí.
San Juan Bautista, capital of the Department of Misiones, Paraguay, is considered the cradle of the religious mission culture. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan Bautista de las Misiones.
Ayolas is a city in the department of Misiones, Paraguay, located at 310 km southeast of Asunción, on the banks of the Paraná River. It is, also, the name of the district within which the city is located.
Alberdi is a town in the Ñeembucú department of Paraguay. It is 144 km (89 mi) south of the capital city, Asunción. As of 2021, the population of Alberdi is 9,679.
The Tercera División de Paraguay, is the third division of Paraguayan football. It is organized by the Paraguayan Football Association in the Asunción metropolitan area, and by the Unión del Fútbol del Interior in the rest of the country. The winners, and sometimes runners-up of each tournaments are promoted to División Intermedia, the second-tier in the Paraguayan football league system.
Villa Florida is a city in southern Paraguay located on the Tebicuary River at the entrance of Misiones Region. Initially, when it was established by the Jesuits in 1632, it was called Paso Santa María. It was officially founded as a city on September 6, 1880 during Bernardino Caballero's government.
Alto Verá is a district in Northern Itapúa, Paraguay. It is known for being the "biggest national power" of women's football and its dance schools. The main source of income for its inhabitants is soy and wheat.
San Cosme y Damián is a district in the Itapúa Department of Paraguay. Located 80 km west of Encarnación, it is close to places like Ayolas, General Artigas or Isla Apipé, in Southern Paraguay and Northern Argentina, along the Paraná River, at the Argentina–Paraguay border. It covers an area of 800 km2 and has an estimated population of over 10,000 in 2023.
San Pedro del Paraná is a town in the Itapúa department of Paraguay.
San Ignacio, also known as San Ignacio Guazú, is a district and city of the Misiones Department of Paraguay, located 225 kilometres (140 mi) from Asunción.
It is Misiones' most-populous and fastest growing city, with an estimated 35,497 residents in 2021. San Ignacio is known as the "Corazón del Sur" for being in the center of the three southern departments: Ñeembucú, Misiones and Itapúa.
The Misiones Orientales or Sete Povos das Missões/Siete Pueblos de las Misiones is a historic region in South America, in present-day Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost State of Brazil.
Santiago is a city in Paraguay, located in the Misiones Department in the south of the country.
Jesús is a district in the Itapúa Department of Paraguay. It is well known for its Jesuit Mission, the Ruins of Jesús de Tavarangue. In 1993, the mission was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is open to visitation by tourists.
The National University of Pilar is a Paraguayan national and public university with a range of degree offerings. The main campus is located in the capital of the Ñeembucú Department, the city of Pilar. It was founded in 1991 and created by law in 1994.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Proyección de la Población por Sexo y Edad según Distrito, 2000-2025.