Ciudad del Este is the second most important city in the country, after
Asunción. It gathers 8% of Paraguayan
gross domestic product, that is, about 3.5 billion dollars. Some 244 companies there operate in the
Services Sector and in the
Industrial Sector, among which stand out the manufacture of auto parts, the textile industry, maquilas, industries developer, and others. Since Ciudad del Este does not have rural areas, it does not have any measurable agro-livestock activity of its own, but it does serve as a regional nucleus for other adjacent urban centers which do have agro-livestock activity, such as
Hernandarias,
Presidente Franco and
Minga Guazú. The city has a large food market with more than 800 shops selling fruits, vegetables, and clothing. Ciudad del Este has repeatedly been on the list of notorious markets for infringing goods by the United States Trade Representative. The city is the headquarters of the company that operates the nearby
Itaipu Dam. The city's economy (along with
Paraguay's economy) relies heavily on the mood of the
Brazilian economy, as 95% of Paraguay's share of the energy generated by the
Itaipu Dam is sold to Brazil (for US$300 million), and that every day many Brazilians cross the border to buy less expensive products (US$1.2 billion, mostly electronics). Officially, you do not need to declare less than $300 worth of goods brought from Ciudad del Este to Brazil. However, it is worth noting that people have found loopholes to this law by getting some of the boys and young men sitting by the Friendship Bridge to transport any items in excess of $300. Smuggling is a major occupation in the city, with some estimates putting the value of this black market at five times the national economy. It is reported that Lebanese immigrants with links to
Hezbollah are operating money laundering activities and cocaine trafficking in the city. In recent decades, Ciudad del Este has seen the development of a market in electronic and computer products, as well as consumer products, as well as luxury (perfumes, fine alcohols, and others). The economy of the city has diversified, led essentially by the installation of new industrial activities outside the traditional commercial focus, such as
agribusiness, because in the city are located the largest agricultural companies in the country.
Tourism It has hotels, modern shopping centers, restaurants, casino and night entertainment centers. While shopping tourism is what most characterizes Ciudad del Este, in the area there are numerous tourist attractions of various kinds, as they constitute the most striking presentation letter of the central core in the region, like the internationally known as the
Triple Frontier; there, Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina converge each other: • 20 km to the north, in Hernandarias is the Itaipú dam, one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world, and the Museum of the Guaraní Land; • 8 km to the south, in President Franco are the
Saltos del Monday, waterfalls on the
Monday River; • 26 km to the south is the Moisés Bertoni Scientific Monument, a protected area where is the house in which the wise man carried out his research and publications; • 20 km to the east, on the border between Argentina and Brazil, are the majestic
Iguazu Falls. == Demographics ==