The Permanent Continuous Household Survey (EPHC) 2024, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), and according to data recently released by the Secretariat of Linguistic Policies (SPL), reveals that bilingualism continues to be a fundamental trait in Paraguayan society, among a wide range of languages spoken in Paraguay.
According to the data collected, 38.7% of the population aged five or older speaks both Guaraní and Spanish at home. Meanwhile, 30% of the population communicates mainly in Guaraní, and 28.5% in Spanish. 2.4% of respondents indicated that they speak another language, while 0.4% said they do not speak it.
The survey does not include the departments of Boquerón and Alto Paraguay, nor indigenous communities or collective housing. As for the group that reported speaking another language, languages such as English, Portuguese, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and indigenous languages were identified.
In the context of International Mother Language Day, celebrated every February 21, these figures take on special relevance as they highlight the importance of linguistic diversity and the need to preserve and strengthen indigenous languages spoken in Paraguay and around the world.
