Uruguay (2004) | Equatorial Guinea (2001) | |
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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 | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years:
42.56% (male 103,909; female 102,946) 15-64 years: 53.68% (male 124,808; female 136,088) 65 years and over: 3.76% (male 8,178; female 10,131) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 64 (2003 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 50
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
total:
28,051 sq km land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of Washington | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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 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. | Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea has been ruled by ruthless leaders who have badly mismanaged the economy since independence from 190 years of Spanish rule in 1968. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 presidential and 1999 legislative elections were widely seen as being flawed. |
Birth rate | 14.44 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 37.72 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.934 billion
expenditures: $3.425 billion, including capital expenditures of $193 million (2003) |
revenues:
$47 million expenditures: $43 million, including capital expenditures of $7 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Montevideo | Malabo |
Climate | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 660 km | 296 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 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
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 Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | Uruguayan peso (UYU) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 9.07 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 13.11 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.73 billion (2003) | $290 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John M. YATES; note - the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); US relations with Equatorial Guinea are handled through the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo |
Diplomatic representation in 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Teodoro BIYOGO NSUEA chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 |
Disputes - international | uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina | tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Cameroon and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ; maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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. | The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the deterioration of the rural economy under successive brutal regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth. A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of the government's gross corruption and mismanagement. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. The country responded favorably to the devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994. Boosts in production and high world oil prices stimulated growth in 2000, with oil accounting for 90% of greatly increased exports. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.152 billion kWh (2001) | 19.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 1.377 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 123 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7.963 billion kWh (2001) | 21 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
85.71% hydro: 14.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal | tap water is not potable; desertification |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 28.2091 (2003), 21.257 (2002), 13.3191 (2001), 12.0996 (2000), 11.3393 (1999) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state:
President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup) head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote to a seven-year term; election last held 25 February 1996 (next to be held NA February 2003); prime minister and vice prime ministers appointed by the president election results: President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected with 98% of popular vote in elections marred by widespread fraud |
Exports | NA (2001) | $860 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products | petroleum, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Brazil 21.4%, US 11.4%, Argentina 7.1%, Germany 6.6%, China 4.3%, Mexico 4.1%, Italy 4.1%, Canada 4% (2003) | US 62%, Spain 17%, China 9%, France 3%, Japan 3%, (1997) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $43.67 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $960 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.4%
industry: 26.6% services: 66% (2003) |
agriculture:
20% industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2003 est.) | 12% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 S, 56 00 W | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
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 | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | total: 8,983 km
paved: 8,081 km unpaved: 902 km (1999 est.) |
total:
2,880 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 25.8% (1997) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $300 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum | manufactured goods and equipment |
Imports - partners | Argentina 26.1%, Brazil 21%, Russia 11.7%, US 7.6% (2003) | US 35%, France 15%, Spain 10%, Cameroon 10%, UK 6% (1997) |
Independence | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (2003 est.) | 7.4% (1994 est.) |
Industries | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
92.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 19.4% (2003 est.) | 6% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,800 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 1.56 million (2003) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 14%, industry 16%, services 70% | - |
Land boundaries | total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
total:
539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.43%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 92.34% (2001) |
arable land:
5% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 46% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
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 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 |
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: opposition parties have refused to take up their seats in the House to protest widespread irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.92 years
male: 72.71 years female: 79.24 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
53.95 years male: 51.89 years female: 56.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
total:
12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 26,035 GRT/27,927 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, combination bulk 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $217.9 million (2003) | $3 million (FY97/98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (2003) | 0.6% (FY97/98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 838,195 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
108,973 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 677,315 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
55,347 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
noun:
Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
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 from weather fronts | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium |
Net migration rate | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 192 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido Miko ABOGO]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY, mayor of Malabo]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | NA |
Population | 3,399,237 (July 2004 est.) | 486,060 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23.7% (2002) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.51% (2004 est.) | 2.46% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Colonia, Fray Bentos, Juan La Caze, La Paloma, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Piriapolis | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 91, FM 149, shortwave 7 (2001) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 180,000 (1997) |
Railways | 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) |
total:
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment:
poor system with adequate government services domestic: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 946,500 (2002) | 4,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 652,000 (2002) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 23 (2002) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 1.96 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.88 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2003) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 1,600 km (2002) | none |