Uruguay (2001) | Kiribati (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
24.39% (male 419,932; female 399,605) 15-64 years: 62.61% (male 1,038,785; female 1,064,891) 65 years and over: 13% (male 180,130; female 256,762) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.2% (male 19,588; female 19,092)
15-64 years: 56.6% (male 26,905; female 27,625) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,339; female 1,786) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, rice, barley, corn, sorghum; livestock; fish | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 64 (2000 est.) | 21 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 31 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Area | total:
176,220 sq km land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of Washington | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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 the end of the year 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. | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. |
Birth rate | 17.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
Capital | Montevideo | Tarawa |
Climate | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 660 km | 1,143 km |
Constitution | 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 | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | Uruguayan peso (UYU) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 9.03 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $8 billion (2000 est.) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Christopher C. ASHBY embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11100 mailing address: APO AA 34035 telephone: [598] (2) 408-777, 203-6061 FAX: [598] (2) 48 86 11 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hugo FERNANDEZ Faingold chancery: 2715 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316 FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan |
Economy - overview | Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, relatively even income distribution, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually in 1996-98, in 1999-2000 the economy suffered from lower demand in Argentina and Brazil, which together account for about half of Uruguay's exports. Despite the severity of the trade shocks, Uruguay's financial indicators remained more stable than those of its neighbors, a reflection of its solid reputation among investors and its investment-grade sovereign bond rating - one of only two in Latin America. Challenges for the government of President Jorge BATLLE include expanding Uruguay's trade ties beyond its MERCOSUR trade partners and reducing the costs of public services. GDP fell by 1.1% in 2000 and will grow by perhaps 1.5% in 2001. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid, from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China, is a critical supplement to GDP, equal to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.89 billion kWh (1999) | 6.51 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 215 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 800 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 5.704 billion kWh (1999) | 7 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
3.86% hydro: 95.44% nuclear: 0% other: 0.7% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
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, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 12.5610 (January 2001), 12.0996 (2000), 11.3393 (1999), 10.4719 (1998), 9.4418 (1997), 7.9718 (1996) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Jorge BATLLE (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 (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 run-off election on 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Jorge BATLLE elected president; percent of vote - Jorge BATLLE 52% in a runoff against Tabare VAZQUEZ 44% |
chief of state: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held by November 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Teburoro TITO reelected president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 50.4%, Taberannang TIMEON 48.4%, Bakeua Bakeua TEKITA 1.2% |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $6 million f.o.b. (1998) |
Exports - commodities | meat, rice, leather products, vehicles, dairy products, wool, electricity | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | MERCOSUR partners 45%, EU 20%, US 7% (1999 est.) | Japan, Bangladesh, US, Australia, Brazil, Poland (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
Flag description | 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 | the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $31 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $79 million (2001 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 28% services: 62% (1999) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.1% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 S, 56 00 W | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | - | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
Highways | total:
8,983 km paved: 8,085 km unpaved: 898 km (1999) |
total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: 27 km are paved in South Tarawa (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $44 million c.i.f. (1999) |
Imports - commodities | road vehicles, electrical machinery, metal manufactures, heavy industrial machinery, crude petroleum | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | MERCOSUR partners 43%, EU 20%, US 11% (1999 est.) | Australia, Japan, Fiji, Poland, US (2000) |
Independence | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2.1% (2000 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 52.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.8% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 7 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 7,700 sq km (1997 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 1.5 million (1999 est.) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | - |
Land boundaries | total:
1,564 km border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 77% forests and woodland: 6% other: 10% (1997 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.44 years male: 72.11 years female: 78.96 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 60.54 years
male: 57.61 years female: 63.62 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.3% male: 96.9% female: 97.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | South America | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,752 GRT/5,228 DWT ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm, Coast Guard, Marines), Air Force, Police (Coracero Guard, Grenadier Guard) | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $172 million (FY98) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY98) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
817,535 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
661,777 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Uruguayan(s) adjective: Uruguayan |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | 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 in weather fronts | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | -0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Colorado Party [Jorge BATLLE]; National Party or Blanco [Alberto VOLONTE]; New Sector/Space Coalition or Nuevo Espacio [Rafael MICHELINI]; Progressive Encounter in the Broad Front or Encuentro Progresista [Tabare VAZQUEZ] | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 3,360,105 (July 2001 est.) | 96,335 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.78% (2001 est.) | 2.28% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fray Bentos, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Colonia, Piriapolis | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 94, FM 115, shortwave 14 (seven are inactive) (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
Radios | 1.97 million (1997) | 17,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
2,073 km standard gauge: 2,073 km 1.435-m gauge (2000) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 66% (less than one-half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
some modern facilities domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
Telephones - main lines in use | 850,000 (2000) | 3,800 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 300,000 (2000) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus ten low-power repeaters for the Montevideo station) (1997) | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) |
Terrain | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 2.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (2000 est.) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | 1,600 km ( used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft) | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) |