Uruguay
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Uruguay is a South American nation located between Brazil to the north and Argentina to the west and south, and the Atlantic Ocean. It is the 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. The border with Argentina is the Urguay River and the estuary Rio del Plate onto which the capitols of both nations Montevideo and Buenos Aires front, 221 km (137 mile) apart.
Uruguay's major environmental issues include water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal.
The future capitol of Uruguay, Montevideo, was founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, and soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose Batlle in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.
Geography
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil
Geographic Coordinates: 33 00 S, 56 00 W
Area: 176,220 km2 (173,620 km2 land and 2,600 km2water)
arable land: 7.77%
permanent crops: 0.24%
other: 91.99% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 1,648 km - border countries: Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,068 km
Coastline: 660 km
Maritime Claims: Territorial sea to 12 nautical miles; contiguous zone to 24nautical miles; exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles; continental shelf: to 200 nautical miles or edge of continental margin
Natural Hazards: Seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that 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 from weather fronts.
Terrain: Mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland. The highest point is Cerro Catedral (514 metres)
Climate: Warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown.
Capital: Montevideo
Biodiversity and Ecology
The Atlantic Forest or Mata Atlântica stretches along Brazil's Atlantic coast, from the northern state of Rio Grande do Norte south to Rio Grande do Sul. It extends inland to eastern Paraguay and the province of Misiones in northeastern Argentina, and narrowly along the coast into Uruguay. Also included in this hotspot is the offshore archipelago of Fernando de Noronha and several other islands off the Brazilian coast. Long isolated from other major rainforest blocks in South America, the Atlantic Forest has an extremely diverse and unique mix of vegetation and forest types. Altitude determines at least three vegetation types in the Atlantic Forest: the lowland forest of the coastal plain, montane forests, and the high-altitude grassland or campo rupestre. Very little of the Atlantic Forest remains, and what does is highly fragmented. Despite this, it still maintains extremely high levels of diversity and endemism, and is one of the highest priorities for conservation action globally.
The unique grasslands, palm savannas, and gallery forests of the Uruguayan savanna ecoregion cover a vast area including the entire country of Uruguay. Unfortunately, agriculture and cattle ranching have heavily altered these natural communities. The Uruguayan government, however, is acting to preserve what remains of the native flora in this ecoregion.
The Patagonian Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) extends from Uruguay to the Strait of Magellan. The LME is rich in a variety of fishery resources. There is high phytoplankton production at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, a river discharging large quantities of freshwater and sediments into the LME. There are commercially important fisheries in that area. Some pollution issues stem from the presence of the two major metropolitan areas (Buenos Aires and Montevideo) situated along the Patagonian coast. Argentina and Uruguay are the two countries bordering this LME. Consensus in the management of the LME is an elusive goal because of differing jurisdictions and a different acceptance of international customary law and conventional law.
International Environmental Agreements
Uruguay is party to international agreements on Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands.
People and Society
Population: 3,494,382 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure: 33.4 years
Median age: 0-14 years: 22.4% (male 397,942/female 385,253)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 1,115,963/female 1,129,478)
65 years and over: 13.3% (male 187,176/female 278,570) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.466% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 14.17 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 9.12 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 76.35 years
Total Fertility Rate: 1.92 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)
Literacy: 98%
Energy
EIA estimates that Uruguay consumed 35,000 bbl/d in 2006. Uruguay has no proven natural gas reserves. In an attempt to diversify its energy usage away from oil and hydroelectricity, Uruguay began importing natural gas from Argentina in 1998. In 2004, Uruguay generated 8.2 billion kilowatthours (Bkwh) of electricity and consumed 9.9 Bkwh. To make up for this shortfall, Uruguay imported electricity from Argentina and Brazil.
See Energy profile of Paraguay and Uruguay
Economy
Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually during 1996-98, in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major downturn, stemming largely from the spillover effects of the economic problems of its large neighbors, Argentina and Brazil. In 2001-02 Argentine citizens made massive withdrawals of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks after bank deposits in Argentina were frozen, which led to a plunge in the Uruguayan peso, a banking crisis, and a sharp economic contraction. Real GDP fell in four years by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year. The unemployment rate rose, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Financial assistance from the IMF helped stem the damage. Uruguay restructured its external debt in 2003 without asking creditors to accept a reduction on the principal. Economic growth for Uruguay resumed, and averaged 8% annually during the period 2004-08.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $42.46 billion (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 8.5% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $12,200 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.8%
industry: 32.8%
services: 57.4% (2008 est.)
Industries: food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages
Natural Resources: Arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries.
Currency: Uruguayan pesos (UYU)
Further Reading
- The CIA World Factbook
- Conservation International homepage
- World Wildlife Fund homepage
- Energy Information Administration of the United States
Return to Uruguay's country profile
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