Uruguay

   Introduction

Background:

Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century launched widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay’s president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay’s political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.

Montevideo

Uruguay

   Geography

Location:

Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil

Geographic coordinates:

33 00 S, 56 00 W

Map references:

South America

Area:

total:  176,215 sq km

land:  175,015 sq km

water:  1,200 sq km

Area – comparative:

slightly smaller than the state of Washington

Land boundaries:

total:  1,648 km

border countries:  Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,069 km

Coastline:

660 km

Maritime claims:

Climate:

warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown

Terrain:

mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland

Elevation extremes:

lowest point:  Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:  Cerro Catedral 514 m

Natural resources:

arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries

Land use:

Irrigated land:

1,810 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:

seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in weather fronts

Environment – current issues:

water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal

Environment – international agreements:

party to:  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:  Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban

Geography – note:

second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising

Uruguay

   People

Population:

3,332,972 (July 2014 est.)

Age structure:

Population growth rate:

0.26% (2014 est.)

Birth rate:

13.18 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Death rate:

9.48 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Net migration rate:

-1.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Sex ratio:

Infant mortality rate:

total: 8.97 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 76.81 years

Total fertility rate:

1.84 children born/woman (2014 est.)

HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate:

0.7% (2012 est.)

HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS:

13,200 (2012 est.)

HIV/AIDS – deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun:  Uruguayan(s)

adjective:  Uruguayan

Ethnic groups:

white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent

Religions:

Roman Catholic 47.1%, non-Catholic Christians 11.1%, nondenominational 23.2%, Jewish 0.3%, atheist or agnostic 17.2%, other 1.1% (2006)

Languages:

Spanish (official), Portunol, Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)

Literacy:

Uruguay

   Government

Country name:

conventional long form:  Oriental Republic of Uruguay

conventional short form:  Uruguay

local long form:  Republica Oriental del Uruguay

local short form:  Uruguay

former:  Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province

Government type:

constitutional republic

Capital:

Montevideo

Administrative divisions:

19 departments (departamentos, singular – departamento); Artigas, Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandu, Rio Negro, Rivera, Rocha, Salto, San Jose, Soriano, Tacuarembo, Treinta y Tres

Independence:

25 August 1825 (from Brazil)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 25 August (1825)

Constitution:

several previous; latest approved by plebiscite 27 November 1966, effective 15 February 1967; amended several times, last in 2004 (2013)

Legal system:

civil law system based on the Spanish civil code

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:

(For more information visit the World Leaders website )

Legislative branch:

Judicial branch:

Political parties and leaders:

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Chamber of Commerce and Export of Agriproducts

International organization participation:

CAN (associate), CD, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

Diplomatic representation from the US:

Flag description:

nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May and 16 rays alternately triangular and wavy

Uruguay

   Economy

Economy – overview:

Uruguay has a free market economy characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, and high levels of social spending. Following financial difficulties in the late 1990s and early 2000s, economic growth for Uruguay averaged 8% annually during the period 2004-08. The 2008-09 global financial crisis put a brake on Uruguay’s vigorous growth, which decelerated to 2.6% in 2009. Nevertheless, the country managed to avoid a recession and keep positive growth rates, mainly through higher public expenditure and investment, and GDP growth reached 8.9% in 2010 but slowed in 2012-13, the result of a renewed slowdown in the global economy and in Uruguay’s main trade partners and Common Market of the South (Mercosur) counterparts, Argentina and Brazil. Uruguay has sought to expand trade within Mercosur and with non-Mercosur members. Uruguay’s total merchandise trade with Mercosur since 2006 has increased by nearly 70% to more than $5 billion while its total trade with the world has almost doubled to roughly $23 billion in 2013.

GDP:

$56.27 billion (2013 est.)

GDP – real growth rate:

3.5% (2013 est.)

GDP – per capita:

$16,600 (2013 est.)

GDP – composition by sector:

Population below poverty line:

18.6% (2010 est.)

Household 

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

8.3% (2013 est.)

Labor force:

1.7 million (2013 est.)

Labor force – by occupation:

Unemployment rate:

6.5% (2013 est.)

Budget:

Industries:

food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages

Industrial production growth rate:

6.6% (2013 est.)

Electricity – production:

9.5 billion kWh (2011 est.)

Imports:

 $12.5 billion (2013 est.)

Agriculture – products:

soybeans, rice, wheat; beef, dairy products; fish; lumber, cellulose

Exports:

$10.5 billion (2013 est.)

Exports – commodities:

beef, soybeans, cellulose, rice, wheat, wood, dairy products; wool

Exports – partners:

Brazil 18.6%, China 17.9%, Argentina 6.2%, Germany 4.3% (2012)

Imports – commodities:

refined oil, crude oil, passenger and other transportation vehicles, vehicle parts, cellular phones

Imports – partners:

China 16.4%, Brazil 14.9%, Argentina 14.6%, US 9.1%, Paraguay 7.3% (2012)

Debt – external:

$17.61 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

Currency:

Uruguayan peso (UYU)

Currency code:

UYU

Exchange rates:

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Uruguay

   Communications

Uruguay

   Transportation

Railways:

total: 1,641 km

standard gauge:  1,641 km 1.435-m gauge (1,200 km operational) (2010)

Roadways:

total: 77,732 km

Waterways:

1,600 km 

Ports and harbors:

Fray Bentos, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Colonia, Piriapolis

Merchant marine:

total: 16)

Airports:

133 (2013)

Airports – with paved runways:

Airports – with unpaved runways:

Uruguay

   Transnational Issues

Disputes – international:

in 2010, the ICJ ruled in favor of Uruguay’s operation of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina; the two countries formed a joint pollution monitoring regime; uncontested boundary dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question; smuggling of firearms and narcotics continues to be an issue along the Uruguay-Brazil border

Uruguay

                                                  Introducción