Paraguay’s Services Exports Set to Grow 20% in 2026, but the Digital Opportunity Remains Largely Untapped
A new UN regional trade report forecasts another strong year for Paraguay’s services exports. Transport and trade-related activities explain much of the momentum, while the country’s relatively small knowledge-services base points to a different, longer-term opportunity for foreign investors.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) released its 2026 International Trade Outlook on 15 October. It forecasts a 20% increase in the value of Paraguay’s services exports this year, compared with 12% for Mercosur overall and 11% for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Paraguay’s projected growth follows a 30% increase in 2025. The distinction matters: the 30% figure is the previous year’s performance, not ECLAC’s forecast for 2026. Exports of services had already risen 20% year on year in the first half of 2026, according to the report.
The main drivers are not necessarily software or financial technology. ECLAC links Paraguay’s strong performance primarily to the recovery of transport and logistics services and to business activity connected with trade inside and outside the region. For a landlocked economy, transport services can expand alongside merchandise exports.
There is, however, a second story in the report. ECLAC identifies modern services—including information technology, professional and business services, finance and creative activities—as a potential source of higher-value exports. Its comparative figures put Paraguay’s modern-services exports at approximately USD 40 million in 2024, a modest base relative to larger regional providers.
That gap may interest international companies considering shared-service centres, software development, specialist back-office operations or other cross-border service activities. Low operating costs alone will not settle an investment decision: multilingual skills, reliable digital infrastructure, legal certainty and access to trained personnel also matter.
ECLAC recommends combining export promotion, foreign investment attraction and workforce development. The relevant question for Paraguay is therefore not simply whether services exports continue growing, but whether a larger share eventually comes from activities that are less dependent on freight volumes.
Investors should treat the 20% figure as a forecast for total services exports, not evidence of equivalent growth in digital services. Detailed balance-of-payments data and new business announcements will be needed to track that transition.
Sources
ECLAC, press release on goods and modern-services exports, 15 October 2026
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