Central Department
Central (Spanish pronunciation: [senˈtɾal]) is a department in Paraguay. The capital is Areguá. With 1,929,834 inhabitants, it is the most populated and the smallest of the 17 departments of Paraguay.
Boundaries
North: the departments of Cordillera and Presidente Hayes.
West: the Argentine province of Formosa separated by the Paraguay River, and the capital district, Asunción.
East: the department of Paraguarí.
South: the department of Ñeembucú.
Districts
The department is divided in 19 districts:
Geography
The mountainous area of Altos and the bodies of water such as the Paraguay and the Salado rivers, the lakes Ypacaraí and Ypoá, and the pond Cabral are part of the natural limits in Central. These along with other regions in the south section generate a good potential of resources for the diverse activities such as tourism and even agriculture.
Education
Central is one of the most benefited departments in terms of attendance in both elementary and higher education, with over 84% of assistance by people of age between 7 and 18. There is a predominance of assistance of males over females, by a margin of 6%. The attendance of public schools is greater, with 69.9% of students attending them, while the resting 30.1% attend private schools. In the Central department there are around 750 elementary education institutions and close to 350 higher education institutions. In the city of San Lorenzo resides the Universidad Nacional de Asunción which is a state-run University.