Country Facts - Uruguay

The People

Nationality
Uruguayan(s)

Ethnic Composition

White	88%
Mestizo	8%
Black	4%

Religious Composition

Roman Catholic	66%
Protestant	2%
Jewish	2%
Nonaffiliated and Other	30%

Languages Spoken

Spanish (official), Portuguese, Brazilero (a Portuguese-Spanish hybrid common along the Brazilian frontier).

Education and Literacy

Elementary education is compulsory for the first six years. Education up through university is tuition-free. Adult literacy is 97.3 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 1.2 million (2001)
By occupation:

Services	70%
Industry	16%
Agriculture	14%

Geography

Land Mass Total

68,038 sq mi (176,220 sq km)

Land

67,035 sq mi (173,620 sq km)

Water

1,003 sq mi (2,600 sq km0

Land Boundaries

total: 971 mi (1,564 km)
Border countries: Argentina 359 mi (579 km), Brazil 612 mi (985 km)

Coastline

410 mi (660 km)

Maritime claim

Continental shelf: 656 ft (200 m) depth or to the depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 200 nm; over-flight and navigation guaranteed beyond 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown.

Terrain

Mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Atlantic Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Cerro Cathedral 1,686 ft (514 m)

Natural Resources

Arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries

Land use

Arable land	7%
Permanent crops	0%
Other	93%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasionally-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 meatpacking/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal.

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.

Demographics

Population

3,386,575 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	24.4%	Male: 422,826	Female: 402,324
15-64 years:	62.6%	Male: 1,047,740	Female: 1,072,032
65 years and over:	13%	Male: 181,522	Female: 260,131

(2002))

Growth Rate

0.79% (2002)

Life Expectancy

75.66 years (2002)
Female: 79.17 years
Male: 72.32 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$9,200 (2001)

Infant Mortality

14.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.7 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.95 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5 percent annually in 1996-98, in 1999-2001 the economy suffered from lower demand in Argentina and Brazil, which together account for nearly half of Uruguay's exports. Despite the severity of the trade shocks, Uruguay's financial indicators remained more stable than those of its neighbors, a reflection of its solid reputation among investors and its investment-grade sovereign bond rating - one of only two in South America. Challenges for the government of President Jorge Battle include reducing the budget deficit, expanding Uruguay's trade ties beyond its Mercosur trade partners, and reducing the costs of public services. GDP fell by 1.3 percent in 2000 and by 1.5 percent in 2001. In 2002, Uruguay was granted US$300 million in loans for the purposes of restructuring the social and banking systems.

Unemployment

15.2% (2001)

Inflation Rate

3.6% (2001)

Industries

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

Exports

US$2.24 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$2.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$31 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Mercosur partners 40%, E.U. 20%, U.S. 8% (2001)

Top Import Partners

Mercosur partners 44%, E.U. 18%, U.S. 9% (2001)

Top Exports

Meat, rice, leather products, wool, vehicles, dairy products

Top Imports

Machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum

Debt - external

US$7.7 billion (2001)

Economic aid

N/A

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8:30 or 9a.m. to 5:30p.m. or 6p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 8p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to 1p.m. Some shops have Sunday hours.
Banks	9a.m. to noon In Montevideo, 1p.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Government	November to mid-March 7:30a.m. to 1:30p.m. Other months noon to 7p.m.	Closed

Note: Many shops and service offices take an extended break at 1p.m. and reopen at mid-afternoon.

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Epiphany	January 6	January 6	January 6
Carnival¹	March 3 and 4	February 23 and 24	February 5 to 8
Holy Thursday²	April 17	April 8	March 24
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter³	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 21	April 12	March 28
Landing of the 33 Patriots	April 19	April 19	April 19
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Battle of Las Piedras	May 18	May 18	May 18
Birthday of Artigas	June 19	June 19	June 19
Constitution Day	July 18	July 18	July 18
Independence Day	August 25	August 25	August 25
Discovery of America	October 12	October 12	October 12
All Saints' Day	November 1	November 1	November 1
Christmas Day*¹	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Carnival takes place one week before the beginning of Lent. Mainly a Catholic observance.
²	Observed the Thursday before Easter. This feast commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, and is one of the oldest rituals of Christian Holy Week. Maundy, or Holy Thursday, also marks the beginning of Passover.
³	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
*¹	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press