:Uruguay People
Population:
3,141,533 (July 1992), growth rate 0.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
17 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
23 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
69 years male, 76 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
2.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Uruguayan(s); adjective - Uruguayan
Ethnic divisions:
white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%
Religions:
Roman Catholic (less than half adult population attends church regularly)
66%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, nonprofessing or other 30%
Languages:
Spanish
Literacy:
96% (male 97%, female 96%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
1,355,000 (1991 est.); government 25%, manufacturing 19%, agriculture 11%,
commerce 12%, utilities, construction, transport, and communications 12%,
other services 21% (1988 est.)
Organized labor:
Interunion Workers' Assembly/National Workers' Confederation (PIT/CNT) Labor
Federation
:Uruguay Government
Long-form name:
Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Type:
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 1828 (from Brazil)
Constitution:
27 November 1966, effective February 1967, suspended 27 June 1973, new
constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980
Legal system:
based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence Day, 25 August (1828)
Executive branch:
president, vice president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
bicameral General Assembly (Asamblea General) consists of an upper chamber
or Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) and a lower chamber or Chamber
of Representatives (Camera de Representantes)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Luis Alberto LACALLE (since 1 March 1990); Vice President Gonzalo
AGUIRRE Ramirez (since 1 March 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
National (Blanco) Party, Carlos CAT; Colorado Party, Jorge BATLLE Ibanez;
Broad Front Coalition, Liber SEREGNI Mosquera - includes Communist Party led
by Jaime PEREZ and National Liberation Movement (MLN) or Tupamaros led by
Eleuterio FERNANDEZ Huidobro; New Space Coalition consists of the Party of
the Government of the People (PGP), Hugo BATALLA; Christian Democratic Party
(PDC), leader NA; and Civic Union, Humberto CIGANDA
Suffrage:
universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
President:
last held 26 November 1989 (next to be held NA November 1994); results -
Luis Alberto LACALLE Herrera (Blanco) 37%, Jorge BATLLE Ibanez (Colorado)
29%, Liber SEREGNI Mosquera (Broad Front) 20%
Chamber of Senators:
last held 26 November 1989 (next to be held NA November 1994); results -
Blanco 40%, Colorado 30%, Broad Front 23% New Space 7%; seats - (30 total)
Blanco 12, Colorado 9, Broad Front 7, New Space 2
Chamber of Representatives:
last held NA November 1989 (next to be held NA November 1994); results -
Blanco 39%, Colorado 30%, Broad Front 22%, New Space 8%, other 1%; seats -
(99 total) number of seats by party NA
Communists:
50,000
:Uruguay Government
Member of:
AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA,
RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Eduardo MACGILLICUDDY; Chancery at 1918 F Street NW, Washington,
DC 20006; telephone (202) 331-1313 through 1316; there are Uruguayan
Consulates General in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, and a Consulate in
New Orleans
US:
Ambassador Richard C. BROWN; Embassy at Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo
(mailing address is APO AA 34035); telephone [598] (2) 23-60-61 or 48-77-77;
FAX [598] (2) 48-86-11
Flag:
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
Overview:
The economy is slowly recovering from the deep recession of the early 1980s.
In 1988 real GDP grew by only 0.5% and in 1989 by 1.5%. The recovery was led
by growth in the agriculture and fishing sectors, agriculture alone
contributing 20% to GDP, employing about 11% of the labor force, and
generating a large proportion of export earnings. Raising livestock,
particularly cattle and sheep, is the major agricultural activity. In 1991,
domestic growth improved somewhat over 1990, but various government factors,
including concentration on the external sector, adverse weather conditions,
and greater attention to bringing down inflation and reducing the fiscal
deficit kept output from expanding rapidly. In a major step toward greater
regional economic cooperation, Uruguay joined Brazil, Argentina, and
Paraguay in forming the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur). President
LACALLE continues to press ahead with a broad economic reform plan to reduce
state intervention in the economy, but he faces strong opposition.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $9.1 billion, per capita $2,935; real growth rate
2.3% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
60% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
8.5% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $165 million (1988)
Exports:
$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
hides and leather goods 17%, beef 10%, wool 9%, fish 7%, rice 4%
partners:
Brazil, US, Argentina, Germany
Imports:
$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
fuels and lubricants 15%, metals, machinery, transportation equipment,
industrial chemicals
partners:
Brazil 23%, Argentina 17%, US 10%, EC 27.1% (1990)
External debt:
$4.2 billion (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -1.4% (1990), accounts for almost 25% of GDP
Electricity:
2,065,000 kW capacity; 5,677 million kWh produced, 1,819 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
meat processing, wool and hides, sugar, textiles, footwear, leather apparel,
tires, cement, fishing, petroleum refining, wine
Agriculture:
large areas devoted to livestock grazing; wheat, rice, corn, sorghum;
self-sufficient in most basic foodstuffs
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $105 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $420 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $69 million
Currency:
new Uruguayan peso (plural - pesos); 1 new Uruguayan peso (N$Ur) = 100
centesimos
:Uruguay Economy
Exchange rates:
new Uruguayan pesos (N$Ur) per US$1 - 2,732.8 (March 1992), 2,018.8 (1991),
1,171.0 (1990), 605.5 (1989), 359.4 (1988), 226.7 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year