In the nineteenth century almost ten times as many South Americans as Central Americans immigrated to the United States. The first wave of immigrants came during a civil war in 1947 and continued arriving into the 1950s. By the 1960s, one-fourth of all Paraguayans were said to be living outside Paraguay, with the majority in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Around 11,000 Paraguayans immigrated to the United States in 1979, but the numbers steadily declined to 4,000 by 1982. While some Paraguayans immigrated for political reasons or to escape civil disturbance, many were young people seeking educational opportunities to develop professional knowledge and skills and to find better jobs. Females outnumbered male immigrants slightly, and more than half of immigrants had no occupation.