Croatia (2001) | Uruguay (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular), 1 city (grad -singular)*: Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
18.16% (male 403,722; female 383,151) 15-64 years: 66.61% (male 1,452,872; female 1,434,086) 65 years and over: 15.23% (male 245,727; female 414,584) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soy beans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish |
Airports | 67 (2000 est.) | 64 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
22 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
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:
45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
total: 50
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
56,542 sq km land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
Background | In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. | Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to became an important commercial center. Annexed by Brazil as a separate province in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President BATLLE in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement, the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to agree to military control of his administration in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold throughout the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. |
Birth rate | 12.82 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.09 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6 billion expenditures: $4.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $3.332 billion
expenditures: $3.787 billion, including capital expenditures of $193 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Zagreb | Montevideo |
Climate | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
Coastline | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) | 660 km |
Constitution | adopted on 22 December 1990 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
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 |
Currency | kuna (HRK) | - |
Death rate | 11.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.06 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.9 billion (December 1999) | $12.8 billion (March 2004) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lawrence G. ROSSIN embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, 100000 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 455-55-00 FAX: [385] (1) 455-85-85 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Martin J. SILVERSTEIN
embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200 mailing address: APO AA 34035 telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777 FAX: [598] (2) 418-8611 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ivan GRDESIC chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos GIANELLI Derois
chancery: 1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316 FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York consulate(s): San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights; progress with Slovenia on discussions of adjustments to land boundary, but problems remain in defining maritime boundary in Gulf of Piran; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP) | uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | NA |
Economy - overview | Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Stepped-up Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help bolster the economy. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor. Massive unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions, to measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits. | Uruguay's well-to-do economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, 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. For instance, in 2001-02 massive withdrawals by Argentina of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks led to a plunge in the Uruguyan peso and a massive rise in unemployment. Total GDP in these four years dropped by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year due to the serious banking crisis. Unemployment rose to nearly 20% in 2002, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Cooperation with the IMF limited the damage. The debt swap with private creditors carried out in 2003, which extended the maturity dates on nearly half of Uruguay's $11.3 billion in public debt, substantially alleviated the country's amortization burden in the coming years and restored public confidence. The economy grew about 10% in 2004 as a result of high commodity prices for Uruguayan exports, the weakness of the dollar against the euro, growth in the region, low international interest rates, and greater export competitiveness. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.643 billion kWh (1999) | 5.878 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 1 billion kWh (1999) | 954 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 4.45 billion kWh (1999) | 434.2 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 10.96 billion kWh (1999) | 8.536 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
40.89% hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0.11% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: 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, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Bosniak 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others 6.6% (1991) | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent) |
Exchange rates | kuna per US dollar - 8.089 (January 2001), 8.277 (2000), 7.112 (1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.101 (1997), 5.434 (1996) | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 28.704 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 21.257 (2002), 13.319 (2001), 12.1 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ivica RACAN (since 27 January 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Goran GRANIC (since 27 January 2000), Zeljka ANTUNOVIC (since 27 January 2000), Slavko LINIC (since 27 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 7 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister nominated by the president in line with the balance of power in the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC elected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen BUDISA (HSLS) 44% note: government coalition - SDP, HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS, IDS |
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% |
Exports | $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Exports - commodities | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels | meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products |
Exports - partners | Italy 18%, Germany 15.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.8%, Slovenia 10.6%, Austria 6.2% (1999) | US 17.3%, Brazil 16%, Germany 6.3%, Argentina 6.2%, Mexico 4.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) | nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May and 16 rays alternately triangular and wavy |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $24.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 19% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 7.9%
industry: 27.4% services: 64.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.2% (2000 est.) | 10.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 45 10 N, 15 30 E | 33 00 S, 56 00 W |
Geography - note | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
27,840 km paved: 23,497 km (including 330 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,343 km (1998) |
total: 8,983 km
paved: 8,081 km unpaved: 902 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 25.8% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; a minor transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe | - |
Imports | $7.8 billion (c.i.f., 1999) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs | machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum |
Imports - partners | Germany 18.5%, Italy 15.9%, Russia 8.6%, Slovenia 7.9%, Austria 7.1% (1999) | Argentina 19.5%, Brazil 19%, Paraguay 12.9%, US 9.2%, China 6% (2004) |
Independence | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.7% (2000) | 22% (2004 est.) |
Industries | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 11.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 7.6% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
Labor force | 1.68 million (October 2000) | 1.56 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 14%, industry 16%, services 70% |
Land boundaries | total:
2,028 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Yugoslavia 266 km, Slovenia 501 km |
total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 38% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.43%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 92.34% (2001) |
Languages | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Counties or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats, 63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve four-year terms; note - House of Counties to be abolished in 2001) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (151 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Counties - last held 13 April 1997; House of Representatives - last held 2-3 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: House of Counties - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 42, HSLS/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note - in some districts certain parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 46, SDP 44, HSLS 24, HSS 17, HSP/HKDU 5, IDS 4, HNS 2, independents 4, minority representatives 5 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.9 years male: 70.28 years female: 77.73 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.13 years
male: 72.92 years female: 79.45 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
Map references | Europe | South America |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total:
53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,853 GRT/969,739 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 5, container 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
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) |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $575 million (2000) | $257.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.8% (2000) | 2% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,085,877 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
859,621 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
30,037 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day/Statehood Day, 30 May (1990) | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun:
Croat(s) adjective: Croatian |
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional 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 from weather fronts |
Natural resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
Net migration rate | 13.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992) | gas 192 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance of Croatian Coast and Mountains Department or PGS [Luciano SUSANJ]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko VESELICA]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Dobroslav PARAGA]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
note: the Social Democratic Party or SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS formed a coalition as did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which together defeated the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000 lower house parliamentary election |
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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Agrupacion UTE (powerful state worker's union), Rural Association of Uruguay (rancher's association), Uruguayan Construction League, Chamber of Uruguayan Industries (manufacturer's association), Chemist and Pharmaceutical Association (professional organization), Architect's Society of Uruguay (professional organization), the Catholic Church, students |
Population | 4,334,142 (July 2001 est.) | 3,415,920 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 4% (1999 est.) | 21% of households (2003) |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2001 est.) | 0.47% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar | Montevideo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) | AM 91, FM 149, shortwave 7 (2001) |
Radios | 1.51 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,296 km standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2000) |
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 (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8% (1991) | Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.488 million (1997) | 946,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 187,000 (yearend 1998) | 652,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) | 23 (2002) |
Terrain | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 1.94 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.91 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (October 2000) | 13% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |
1,600 km (2002) |