Nigeria (2001) | Uruguay (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Federal Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara | 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:
43.71% (male 27,842,225; female 27,514,197) 15-64 years: 53.47% (male 34,456,738; female 33,259,194) 65 years and over: 2.82% (male 1,780,862; female 1,782,410) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.3% (male 425,642; female 404,987)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 1,057,187; female 1,079,549) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 182,696; female 263,268) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish |
Airports | 70 (2000 est.) | 64 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
36 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 15
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
total: 49
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 31 (2002) |
Area | total:
923,768 sq km land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
Background | Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999 and a peaceful transition to civilian government completed. The new president faces the daunting task of rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, the OBASANJO administration must defuse longstanding ethnic and religious tensions, if it is to build a sound foundation for economic growth and political stability. | 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 | 39.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.19 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3.4 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.7 billion
expenditures: $4.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2000) |
Capital | Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have now made the move to Abuja | Montevideo |
Climate | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
Coastline | 853 km | 660 km |
Constitution | NA 1999 new constitution adopted | 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:
Federal Republic of Nigeria conventional short form: Nigeria |
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 | naira (NGN) | Uruguayan peso (UYU) |
Death rate | 13.91 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $32 billion (2000 est.) | $11.8 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER embassy: 8 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (1) 261-0050, -0078 FAX: [234] (1) 261-0257 |
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 Jibril AMINU chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385 consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York |
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 | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula is currently before the ICJ; tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon is currently before the ICJ | uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $250 million (1998) | $NA |
Economy - overview | The oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion loan from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Increases in foreign investment and oil production combined with high world oil prices should push growth over 4% in 2001-02. | Uruguay's 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 lower demand in Argentina and Brazil, which together account for nearly half of Uruguay's exports. Total GDP in these four years dropped by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year. 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, which is still extensive. Moves to reschedule debt and promote economic recovery may help limit a further decline in output in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.372 billion kWh (1999) | 6.152 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 19 million kWh (1999) | 1.377 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 123 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 18.7 billion kWh (1999) | 7.963 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
52.94% hydro: 47.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 0.7%
hydro: 99.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.3% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5% | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent |
Exchange rates | nairas per US dollar - 110.005 (January 2001), 101.697 (2000), 92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997), 21.884 (1996) | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 21.26 (2002), 13.32 (2001), 12.1 (2000), 11.34 (1999), 10.47 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Federal Executive Council elections: president is elected by popular vote for no more than two four-year terms; election last held 27 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2% |
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 1999, with runoff election on 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Jorge BATLLE Ibanez elected president; percent of vote - Jorge BATLLE Ibanez 52% in a runoff against Tabare VAZQUEZ 44% |
Exports | $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber | meat, rice, leather products, wool, vehicles, dairy products |
Exports - partners | US 36%, India 9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 6%, France 6%, (1999) | Brazil 21%, Argentina 15%, US 8.1%, Germany 5.1%, Italy 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green | 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 - $117 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $26.82 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 40% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 27% services: 67% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $950 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | -10.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 8 00 E | 33 00 S, 56 00 W |
Geography - note | - | 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:
194,394 km paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways) unpaved: 134,326 km note: many of the roads reported as paved may be graveled; because of poor maintenance and years of heavy freight traffic - in part the result of the failure of the railroad system - much of the road system is barely usable (1997) |
total: 8,983 km
paved: 8,081 km unpaved: 902 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97) |
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 25.8% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | facilitates movement of heroin en route from Southeast and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America; increasingly a transit route for cocaine from South America intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets | - |
Imports | $10.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals | machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum |
Imports - partners | UK 11%, Germany 10%, US 9%, France 8%, China 6% (1999) | Argentina 25.6%, Brazil 22.7%, US 7.7%, Venezuela 6.2% (2002) |
Independence | 1 October 1960 (from UK) | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.5% (2000 est.) | -12% (2002 est.) |
Industries | crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 73.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.5% (2000 est.) | 14.1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ECLAC, 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, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | 14 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 9,570 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the Provisional Ruling Council); Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee) | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
Labor force | 66 million (1999 est.) | 1.2 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) | agriculture 14%, industry 16%, services 70% |
Land boundaries | total:
4,047 km border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
Land use | arable land:
33% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 44% forests and woodland: 12% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.21%
permanent crops: 0.27% other: 92.52% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
Legal system | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (109 seats, three from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 23%, AD 19%; seats by party - PDP 67, APP 23, AD 19; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 30%, AD 12%; seats by party - PDP 221, APP 70, AD 69 |
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 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) 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:
51.07 years male: 51.07 years female: 51.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.87 years
male: 72.54 years female: 79.38 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.1% male: 67.3% female: 47.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 357,372 GRT/636,254 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 10, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 24, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,918 GRT/9,775 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 4, Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army, Navy (including Naval Air Arm, Coast Guard, Marines), Air Force, Police (Coracero Guard, Grenadier Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $360 million (FY00) | $250 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 10% (FY00) | 1.1% (2000) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
29,940,922 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 831,297 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
17,201,367 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 672,030 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
1,375,112 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1960) | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun:
Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian |
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | 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 | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
Net migration rate | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km | gas 192 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Party or APP [Alhaji Yusuf ALI]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [contested between Yusuf MAMMAN and Alhasi Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Barnabas GEMADE] | 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 | NA |
Population | 126,635,626
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
3,413,329 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2000 est.) | 6% (1997) |
Population growth rate | 2.61% (2001 est.) | 0.79% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri | Colonia, Fray Bentos, Juan La Caze, La Paloma, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Piriapolis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 82, FM 35, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 91, FM 149, shortwave 7 (2001) |
Radios | 23.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
3,557 km narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge note: years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system; a project to restore Nigeria's railways is now underway |
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 (2002) |
Religions | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% | 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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 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 (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
an inadequate system, further limited by poor maintenance; major expansion is required and a start has been made domestic: intercity traffic is carried by coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, a domestic communications satellite system with 19 earth stations, and a coastal submarine cable; mobile cellular facilities and the Internet are available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); coaxial submarine cable SAFE (South African Far East) |
general assessment: fully digitalized
domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 500,000 (2000) | 929,141 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26,700 (1997) | 350,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 government-controlled; note - in addition, in 1993, 14 licenses to operate private television stations were granted (1999) | 20 (2001) |
Terrain | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 5.57 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.35 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (1992 est.) | 19.4% (2002) |
Waterways | 8,575 km
note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks |
1,600 km (used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft) |