Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay. The Spanish word asunción translates into assumption in English which refers to the Assumption of Mary. The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The Asunción metropolitan area has more than 2 million inhabitants.

Asunción is one of the oldest cities in South America and the longest continually inhabited area in the River Plate Basin; for this reason that it is known as "Mother of Cities".

It is the home of the national government, principal port, and the chief industrial and cultural centre of the country. Local manufacturing production includes footwear, textiles, and tobacco products. The city has ranked as the least expensive city to live in for five years running by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.