Irrigated land: 7,700 sq km (1997 est.)
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 Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
@Uruguay:People
Population: 3,334,074 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (male 417,288; female 397,125) 15-64 years: 63% (male 1,030,201; female 1,057,968) 65 years and over: 13% (male 178,393; female 253,099) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.77% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 17.42 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 9.06 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)