Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 97.6%
female: 98.4% (2003 est.)
Government Uruguay
Country name:
conventional long form: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
conventional short form: Uruguay
local short form: Uruguay
former: Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province
local long form: Republica Oriental del Uruguay
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:
27 November 1966, effective February 1967, suspended 27 June 1973,
new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two
constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7
January 1997
Legal system:
based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction