Map of Uruguay | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 established 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.


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Location: Southern South America bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Argentina and Brazil

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 S 56 00 W

Map reference: South America

Area
Total: 176,215 km²
Rank: 90
Land: 175,015 km²
Water: 1200 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than the state of Washington

Land boundaries
Total: 1648 km
Border countries: (2) Argentina 580 km; Brazil 1068 km

Coastline: 660 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or edge of continental margin

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
Extremes highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m

Natural resources: arable land: hydropower minor minerals fish

Land use
Arable land: 7.77%
Permanent crops: 0.24%
Other: 91.99% (2005)

Irrigated land: 2,100 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 139 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that 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 from weather fronts

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


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Population: 3,510,386 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 131
Growth rate: 0.447% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 157
Below poverty line: 27.4% of households (2006)

Nationality
Noun: Uruguayan
Adjective: Uruguayan

Ethnic groups: white 88% mestizo 8% black 4% Amerindian (practically nonexistent)

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

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)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 22.4%
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 1,115,963/female 1,129,478)
65 years and over: 13.3% (male 187,176/female 278,570) (2010 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 33.7 years
Male: 32.3 years
Female: 35.1 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.447% (2010 est.)
Rank: 157

Birth rate: 13.67 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 152

Death rate: 9.06 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 72

Net migration rate: -0.14 migrant(s)/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 129

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 92% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal
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 Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Marine Dumping Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.037 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 10.99 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 149
Male: 12.37 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 9.57 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.55 years
Rank: 69
Male: 73.3 years
Female: 79.92 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.89 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 146

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.6% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 69
People living with hivaids: 10,000 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 102
Deaths: fewer than 500 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 89

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 154

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98%
Male: 97.6%
Female: 98.4% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 17 years (2007)

Youth unemployment


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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
Name: Montevideo
Geographic coordinates: 34 53 S 56 11 W
Time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins first Sunday in October; ends second Sunday in March

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

Dependent areas

Independence: 25 August 1825 (from Brazil)

National holiday: Independence Day 25 August (1825)

Constitution: 27 November 1966; effective 15 February 1967; suspended 27 June 1973; revised 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997

Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Jose 'Pepe' MUJICA Cordano ; Vice President Danilo ASTORI Saragoza (since 1 March 2010); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Jose 'Pepe' MUJICA Cordano (since 1 March 2010); Vice President Danilo ASTORI Saragoza (since 1 March 2010)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president with parliamentary approval
Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held on 29 November 2009 (next to be held in October 2014)
Election results: Jose 'Pepe' MUJICA elected president; percent of vote - Jose 'Pepe' MUJICA 54.8% Luis Alberto LACALLE 45.2%

Legislative branch: bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; vice president has one vote in the Senate) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: Chamber of Senators - last held on 25 October 2009 (next to be held in October 2014); Chamber of Representatives - last held on 25 October 2009 (next to be held in October 2014)
Election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Frente Amplio 16 Blanco 9 Colorado Party 5; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Frente Amplio 50 Blanco 30 Colorado Party 17 Independent Party 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly)

Political parties and leaders: Broad Front (Frente Amplio) - formerly known as the Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or EP-FA [Jorge BROVETTO] (a broad governing coalition that includes Movement of the Popular Participation or MPP New Space Party (Nuevo Espacio) [Rafael MICHELINI] Progressive Alliance (Alianza Progresista) [Rodolfo NIN NOVOA] Socialist Party [Eduardo FERNANDEZ and Reinaldo GARGANO] Communist Party [Eduardo LORIER] Uruguayan Assembly (Asamblea Uruguay) [Danilo ASTORI] and Vertiente Artiguista [Mariano ARANA]); Colorado Party (Foro Batllista) [Pedro BORDABERRY and Julio Maria SANGUINETTI]; National Party or Blanco [Luis Alberto LACALLE and Jorge LARRANAGA]

International organization participation: CAN (associate) FAO G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt 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 PCA RG UN UNASUR UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO Union Latina UNMOGIP UNOCI UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Alberto GIANELLI Derois
In the us chancery: 1913 I Street NW Washington DC 20,006
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316
In the us fax: [1] (202) 331-8,142
In the us consulate general: Chicago Los Angeles Miami New York
In the us consulate: San Juan (Puerto Rico)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador David NELSON
From the us embassy: Lauro Muller 1776 Montevideo 11,200
From the us mailing address: APO AA 34,035
From the us telephone: [598] (2) 418-7,777
From the us fax: [598] (2) 418-8,611

Flag description: nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May with 16 rays that alternate between triangular and wavy; the stripes represent the nine original departments of Uruguay; the sun symbol evokes the legend of the sun breaking through the clouds on 25 May 1810 as independence was first declared from Spain (Uruguay subsequently won its independence from Brazil)
Note: the banner was inspired by the national colors of Argentina and by the design of the US flag

National symbols

National anthem
Name: 'Himno Nacional'
Lyricsmusic: Francisco Esteban ACUNA de Figueroa/Francisco Jose DEBALI
Note: adopted 1848; the anthem is also known as 'Orientales la Patria o la tumba!' ('Uruguayans the Fatherland or Death!'); it is the world's longest national anthem in terms of music (105 bars; almost five minutes); generally only the first verse and chorus are sung

National heritage


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Economy overview: Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector a well-educated work force and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually during 1996-98 in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major downturn stemming largely from the spillover effects of the economic problems of its large neighbors Argentina and Brazil. In 2001-02 Argentine citizens made massive withdrawals of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks after bank deposits in Argentina were frozen which led to a plunge in the Uruguayan peso a banking crisis and a sharp economic contraction. Real GDP fell in four years by nearly 20% with 2002 the worst year. The unemployment rate rose inflation surged and the burden of external debt doubled. Financial assistance from the IMF helped stem the damage. Uruguay restructured its external debt in 2003 without asking creditors to accept a reduction on the principal. Economic growth for Uruguay resumed and 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 2.9% 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 exceeded 7% in 2010.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 92
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 19

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 85
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 9.3%
Industry: 22.8%
Services: 67.9% (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: rice wheat soybeans barley; livestock beef; fish; forestry

Industries: food processing electrical machinery transportation equipment petroleum products textiles chemicals beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 16.5% (2010 est.)
Rank: 3

Labor force: 1.637 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 127
By occupation agriculture: 9%
By occupation industry: 15%
By occupation services: 76% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.6% (2009 est.)
Rank: 76

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 27.4% of households (2006)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.7%
Highest 10: 34.8% (2006)

Distribution of family income gini index: 44.8 (1999)
Rank: 41

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 60% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 47

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 7.1% (2009 est.)
Rank: 174

Central bank discount rate: 20% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 11

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 12.45% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 68

Stock of narrow money: $2.74 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Rank: 103

Stock of broad money: $11.78 billion (31 December 2008)
Rank: 91

Stock of domestic credit: $8.888 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 91

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 111

Current account balance: $258.8 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 108

Exports: $6.389 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 97
Commodities: meat rice leather products wool fish dairy products
Partners: Brazil 21.05% China 9.45% Argentina 7.36% Germany 5.16% Mexico 4.88% Netherlands 4.13% US 3.96% (2009)

Imports: $6.664 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 95
Commodities: crude petroleum and petroleum products machinery chemicals road vehicles paper plastics
Partners: Argentina 20.77% Brazil 17.53% China 10.23% US 9.82% Paraguay 6.87% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $8.038 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 59

Debt external: $13.23 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 81

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $156 million (2007 est.)
Rank: 79

Exchange rates: Uruguayan pesos (UYU) per US dollar - 20.276 (2010) 22.568 (2009) 20.936 (2008) 23.947 (2007) 24.048 (2006)


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Electricity
Production: 9.265 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 94
Consumption: 7.14 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 97
Exports: 996 million kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 789 million kWh (2007 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 115
Consumption: 70 million m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 106
Exports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Exports rank: 104
Imports: 70 million m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 68
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 123

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 953,400 (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 81
Mobile cellular: 3.802 million (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 106

Telephone system
General assessment: fully digitalized
Domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network; overall fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is 135 telephones per 100 persons
International: country code - 598; the UNISOR submarine cable system provides direct connectivity to Brazil and Argentina; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)

Broadcast media: mixture of privately-owned and state-run broadcast media; more than 100 commercial radio stations and about 20 television channels broadcasting; cable TV is available; large number of community radio and TV stations (2007)

Internet
Country code: .uy
Hosts: 765,525 (2010)
Hosts rank: 47
Users: 1.405 million (2009)
Users rank: 86

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.6% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 95

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; up to 40 years of age for specialists; enlistment is voluntary in peacetime but the government has the authority to conscript in emergencies; minimum 6-year education (2009)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 58 (2010)
Rank: 82
With paved runways total: 9
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 49
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 20
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 26 (2010)

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 226 km; oil 155 km (2009)

Railways
Total: 1641 km
Rank: 79
Standard gauge: 1641 km 1.435-m gauge (2010)

Roadways
Total: 77,732 km
Rank: 63
Paved: 7,743 km
Unpaved: 69,989 km (2010)

Waterways: 1600 km (2010)
Rank: 52

Merchant marine
Total: 18
Rank: 101
By type: bulk carrier 1 cargo 2 chemical tanker 4 passenger/cargo 7 petroleum tanker 3 roll on/roll off 1
Foreign owned: 9 (Argentina 2 Denmark 1 Greece 1 Spain 5)
Registered in other countries: 1 (Liberia 1) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Montevideo


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Disputes international: in Jan 2007 ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River which forms the border with Argentina while the court examines further whether Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with potential environmental implications to both countries; two uncontested boundary disputes with Brazil over Isla Brasilera at the tripoint with Argentina at the confluence of the Quarai/Cuareim and Uruguay rivers and in the 235 square kilometer Invernada River region over which tributary represents the legitimate source of the Quarai/Cuareim River

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: small-scale transit country for drugs mainly bound for Europe often through sea-borne containers; law enforcement corruption; money laundering because of strict banking secrecy laws; weak border control along Brazilian frontier; increasing consumption of cocaine base and synthetic drugs