| GEOGRAPHY |
| 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 |
| Capital: |
constitutional republic |
| Location: |
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
33 00 S, 56 00 W |
| Area: |
total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km
water: 2,600 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
| Coastline: |
660 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate: |
warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
| Terrain: |
mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
constitutional republic |
| Administratives
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 |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Tabare VAZQUEZ (since 1 March 2005) and Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tabare VAZQUEZ (since 1 March 2005) and Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
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; election last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009)
election results: Tabare VAZQUEZ elected president; percent of vote - Tabare VAZQUEZ 50.5%, Jorge LARRANAGA 35.1%, Guillermo STIRLING 10.3% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009)
election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 16, Blanco 11, Colorado Party 3; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 52, Blanco 36, Colorado Party 10, Independent Party 1 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Colorado Party [Jorge BATLLE Ibanez]; National Party or Blanco [Luis Alberto LACALLE Herrera]; New Sector/Space Coalition (Nuevo Espacio) [Rafael MICHELINI]; Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition (Encuentro Progresista/Frente Amplio) or EP-FA [Tabare VAZQUEZ]; Independent Party (Partido Independiente) [leader NA] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
3,415,920 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 23.2% (male 403,041/female 389,427)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 1,076,960/female 1,095,833)
65 years and over: 13.2% (male 183,877/female 266,782) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 32.46 years
male: 31.02 years
female: 33.95 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
| Ethnic groups: |
white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% |
| Languages: |
Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
946,500 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
652,000 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: fully digitalized
domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network
international: country code - 598; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 91, FM 149, shortwave 7 (2001) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
23 (2002) |
| Internet country
code: |
.uy |
| Internet hosts: |
87,630 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
400,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 2,073 km
standard gauge: 2,073 km 1.435-m gauge
note: 461 km have been taken out of service and 460 km are in partial use (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 8,983 km
paved: 8,081 km
unpaved: 902 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
1,600 km (2002) |
| Pipelines: |
gas 192 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Colonia, Fray Bentos, Juan La Caze, La Paloma, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Piriapolis |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,918 GRT/10,342 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 4 (Argentina 3, Greece 1)
registered in other countries: 8 (2005) |
| Airports: |
64 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 50
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 17
under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
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