Uruguay (2006) | Tokelau (2003) | |
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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 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 22.9% (male 399,409/female 386,136)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 1,087,180/female 1,104,465) 65 years and over: 13.3% (male 185,251/female 269,491) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 64 (2006) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 56
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 31 (2006) |
- |
Area | total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of Washington | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Annexed by Brazil as a separate province in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named 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. In 2004, the left-of-center EP-FA Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 13.91 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.468 billion
expenditures: $4.845 billion; including capital expenditures of $193 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $430,830
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | name: Montevideo
geographic coordinates: 34 53 S, 56 11 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in October; ends second Sunday in March |
none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 660 km | 101 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 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
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: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $13.24 billion (2005 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires James D. NEALON
embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200 mailing address: APO AA 34035 telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777 FAX: [598] (2) 418-8611 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Alberto GIANELLI Derois
chancery: 1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316 FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York consulate(s): San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
Economy - overview | Uruguay's well-to-do economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, 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 Argentina made massive withdrawals of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks, which led to a plunge in the Uruguayan 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 banking crisis. The unemployment rate rose to nearly 20% in 2002, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Cooperation with the IMF helped stem the damage. A debt swap with private-sector creditors in 2003 extended the maturity dates on nearly half of Uruguay's then $11.3 billion of public debt and helped restore public confidence. The economy grew about 10% in 2004 as a result of high commodity prices for Uruguayan exports, a competitive peso, growth in the region, and low international interest rates, but slowed to 6.1% in 2005. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.762 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 900 million kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - imports | 654 million kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - production | 8.611 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent) | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 24.479 (2005), 28.704 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 21.257 (2002), 13.319 (2001) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005) and Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005) and Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president with parliamentary approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: Tabare VAZQUEZ elected president; percent of vote - Tabare VAZQUEZ 50.5%, Jorge LARRANAGA 35.1%, Guillermo STIRLING 10.3%; other 4.1% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Pio TUIA (since NA 2002) cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 18.6%, Brazil 15.6%, Mexico 6.9%, Argentina 6.1%, Spain 4.1%, Germany 4% (2005) | NZ (2000) |
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 with 16 rays that alternate between triangular and wavy | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.1% services: 59.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.8% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 S, 56 00 W | 9 00 S, 172 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 | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Highways | - | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 25.8% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Argentina 18.9%, Brazil 18.5%, Paraguay 14%, US 8.6%, China 6.2% (2005) | NZ (2000) |
Independence | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 11.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.7% (2005 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | CAN (associate), CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | SPC, UNESCO (associate), WHO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 2,100 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 1.52 million (2005 est.) | 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.77%
permanent crops: 0.24% other: 91.99% (2005) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
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; vice president has one vote in the Senate) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 16, Blanco 11, Colorado Party 3; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 52, Blanco 36, Colorado Party 10, Independent Party 1 |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; members chosen by each atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega to serve three-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.33 years
male: 73.12 years female: 79.65 years (2006 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |
NA |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | South America | Oceania |
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: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,259 GRT/19,725 DWT
by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 4 (Argentina 3, Greece 1) registered in other countries: 8 (Argentina 1, Bahamas 2, Liberia 3, Spain 2) (2006) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes naval air arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya, FAU) (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $371.2 million (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that 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 | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -0.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 257 km; oil 160 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Colorado Party [Julio Maria SANGUINETTI]; Independent Party (Partido Independiente) [Pablo MIERES]; Movement of Popular Participation or MPP [Jose MUJICA]; National Party or Blanco [Jorge LARRANAGA]; New Sector/Space Coalition (Nuevo Espacio) [Rafael MICHELINI]; Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition (Encuentro Progresista/Frente Amplio) or EP-FA [Tabare VAZQUEZ]; Socialist Party of Uruguay or Socialists [Reinaldo GARGANO]; Uruguayan Assembly or Asamblea Uruguay [Danilo ASTORI] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Architect's Society of Uruguay (professional organization); Catholic Church; Chamber of Uruguayan Industries (manufacturer's association); Chemist and Pharmaceutical Association (professional organization); PIT-CNT (powerful federation of Uruguayan unions); Rural Association of Uruguay (rancher's association); students; Uruguayan Construction League | none |
Population | 3,431,932 (July 2006 est.) | 1,418 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% of households (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.46% (2006 est.) | 0.01% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 93, FM 191, shortwave 7 (2005) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
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 (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 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 (2006 est.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 21 years of age; universal |
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: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1 million (2004) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 600,000 (2004) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 62 (2005) | - |
Terrain | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.89 children born/woman (2006 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12.2% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 1,600 km (2005) | none |