Guam (2001) | Uruguay (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US) | 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:
35.07% (male 28,978; female 26,270) 15-64 years: 58.78% (male 48,704; female 43,902) 65 years and over: 6.15% (male 4,871; female 4,832) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 23.5% (male 406,500; female 392,497)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,066,464; female 1,087,100) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 182,654; female 264,022) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 64 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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:
1 under 914 m: 1 (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:
549 sq km land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
Area - comparative | three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
Background | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. | 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 | 25.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.44 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$605.3 million expenditures: $654.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
revenues: $2.934 billion
expenditures: $3.425 billion, including capital expenditures of $193 million (2003) |
Capital | Hagatna (Agana) | Montevideo |
Climate | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
Coastline | 125.5 km | 660 km |
Constitution | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 | 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:
Territory of Guam conventional short form: Guam |
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 | US dollar (USD) | Uruguayan peso (UYU) |
Death rate | 4.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.07 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $10.73 billion (2003) |
Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | 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 | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo FERNANDEZ-FAINGOLD
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 |
Disputes - international | none | uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina |
Economic aid - recipient | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam | NA |
Economy - overview | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. | 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 and the US has 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 is expected to resume growth in 2004 (perhaps 4% or more) 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. On the negative side, in December 2003 the electorate voted to repeal the law permitting a cautious liberalization of the energy industry. |
Electricity - consumption | 744 million kWh (1999) | 6.152 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.377 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 123 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 800 million kWh (1999) | 7.963 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
Environment - current issues | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic species | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | - | 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 | Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 18% | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 28.2091 (2003), 21.257 (2002), 13.3191 (2001), 12.0996 (2000), 11.3393 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Carl GUTIERREZ (since 8 November 1994) and Lieutenant Governor Madeleine BORDALLO (since 8 November 1994) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: Carl GUTIERREZ reelected governor; percent of vote - Carl GUTIERREZ (Democrat) 53.2%, Joseph ADA (Republican) 46.8% |
chief of state: President Jorge BATLLE Ibanez (since 1 March 2000) and Vice President Luis HIERRO (since 1 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jorge BATLLE Ibanez (since 1 March 2000) and Vice President Luis HIERRO (since 1 March 2000); 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 50.7%, Jorge LARRANAGA 34.1%, Guillermo STIRLING 10.3%; note - VAZQUEZ will take office on 1 March 2005 |
Exports | $75.7 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products | meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products |
Exports - partners | US 25% | Brazil 21.4%, US 11.4%, Argentina 7.1%, Germany 6.6%, China 4.3%, Mexico 4.1%, Italy 4.1%, Canada 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag | 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 - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $43.67 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: 15% (1993) services: NA% |
agriculture: 7.4%
industry: 26.6% services: 66% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 28 N, 144 47 E | 33 00 S, 56 00 W |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean | 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 |
Highways | total:
885 km paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
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) |
Imports | $203 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum |
Imports - partners | US 23%, Japan 19% | Argentina 26.1%, Brazil 21%, Russia 11.7%, US 7.6% (2003) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 6.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 12.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 19.4% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC | 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) | 20 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
Labor force | 60,000 (2000 est.) | 1.56 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.) | agriculture 14%, industry 16%, services 70% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 11% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 18% other: 45% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.43%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 92.34% (2001) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Japanese | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
Legal system | modeled on US; US federal laws apply | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 8, Democratic Party 7 note: Guam elects one delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Robert UNDERWOOD was reelected as delegate; percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
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 - Encuentro Progresista 12, Colorado Party 10, Blanco 7, New Sector/Space Coalition 1; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Encuentro Progresista 40, Colorado Party 33, Blanco 22, New Sector/Space Coalition 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.94 years male: 75.66 years female: 80.55 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.92 years
male: 72.71 years female: 79.24 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
Map references | Oceania | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM 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 | none (2000 est.) | total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,918 GRT/10,342 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Argentina 4, Greece 1 registered in other countries: 6 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $217.9 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 838,195 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 677,315 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun:
Guamanian(s) adjective: Guamanian |
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
Natural hazards | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in August) | 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 | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 192 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party (party of the Governor) [leader NA]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader NA] | Colorado Party [Jorge BATLLE Ibanez]; National Party or Blanco [Luis Alberto LACALLE Herrera]; New Sector/Space Coalition or Nuevo Espacio [Rafael MICHELINI]; Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or Encuentro Progresista/Frente Amplio [Tabare VAZQUEZ] |
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 | 157,557 (July 2001 est.) | 3,399,237 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 23.7% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 2.09% (2001 est.) | 0.51% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apra Harbor | Colonia, Fray Bentos, Juan La Caze, La Paloma, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Piriapolis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 91, FM 149, shortwave 7 (2001) |
Radios | 221,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 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) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) | 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:
1.14 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 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 (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
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 | 84,134 (1998) | 946,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,000 (1998) | 652,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 23 (2002) |
Terrain | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in center, mountains in south | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 3.85 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.96 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2000 est.) | 16% (2003) |
Waterways | none | 1,600 km (2002) |