GOVERNMENT

Country Name: Oriental Republic of Uruguay

President: Dr. Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (Assumed on March 1 st 2005)

National Capital: Montevideo

Political Division: 19 Departments

 

Government type: Republic under a presidential system. The state is organized into three independent branches: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. The Executive branch is headed by the President and a cabinet of 13 ministers. The Legislative branch is represented by the General Assembly, or Parliament, composed by two chambers. The Senate is composed of 30 members, plus the Vice President of the Republic who acts as chairman, and are elected on a nationwide basis. The House of Representatives is composed of 99 members, elected on the basis of proportional representation of each of the 19 Departments.

Suffrage: Compulsory and universal for citizens over 18 years of age.

National holidays: January 1st, May 1st, July 18th, August 25th, December 25th

Legal system: The Uruguayan legal system is based on written law passed by the Parliament and promulgated by the President. The ultimate source of the law is the Constitution of the Republic. The court or judicial procedures normally have two instances. Although the verdict of a court or a judge may provide guidance for other cases, such verdicts are not a binding precedent.

      POPULATION

Population : 3,249,676 (2004)

Annual Demographic Growth Rate : 0.7

Density (population per sq.km.) : 18

Life Expectancy at Birth : 75,4 years

Infant mortality rate : 15.02/1000

Literacy rate : 98% (2003)

Religions : No official religion (catholics 56%, non religious 38 %, protestants 2 %, jews 2%)

Nationality : noun: Uruguayan(s), adjective: Uruguayan

Languages : Spanish

Business languages : English and Portuguese (French and Italian widely spoken)

       ECONOMY

GDP (2003): 11.177 million dollars

GDP per capita (2003): 3.283 dollars

GDP composition by sector :

agriculture and fisheries	12.6%
manufacturing industry and mining	16.7%
electricity, gas and water	4.5%
construction industry	2.4%
transportation, communications	11.9%
trade, hotels and restaurants	10.7%
financial services, insurance, housing and business services	25.1%
other services	16%

Inflation rate : 7.59 % (2004)

Economically active population : 1.256.600 (Dec 2004)

Unemployment rate : 12.1% (Dec 2004)

Exports of goods : 2.974.1 (in million USD) (2004)

Main Items : Beef, rice and other grains, dairy products and honey, skins, hides and leather products, foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco, wool, textiles and manufactured textile goods, plastic materials, rubber and their manufactured goods.

Main partners : USA (19.8%), Brazil (16,3%), Argentina (7,6%), European Union (19,9%), Asia except Middle East (8,1%), Middle East (3,9%) .

Imports of goods : 2.442,8 (in million USD) (2004)

Main items : Machinery and appliances, electric materials, chemicals products, petroleum and derivates, transportation equipment.

Main partners : Argentina (25,7%) , Brazil (25,7%) , European Union (13,8%) , USA (9,0%) , Asia except Middle East (9,1%), Middle East (0.3%).

Net Public External Debt : 6.964 (in million USD) (Sept 2003)

       LIVING STANDARDS INDICATORS

Population with health coverage : 95%

Population physicians ratio : 260

Population supplied with drinking water : 98%

Electrification rate : 98%

Cars per 100 inhabitants : 19

       COMMUNICATIONS

Digital telephone network : 100%

Telephone lines per 100 inhabitants : 28 (2003)

Cellular phones per 100 inhabitants : 15 (2003)

Internet users : 16% (2004)

Hosts/10000 inhabitants :  260 (Jan 2004)

Source: Uruguay XXI

Montevideo, the Capital City of Uruguay