Uruguay (2008) | Yemen (2005) | |
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 | 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23% (male 403,745/female 390,623)
15-64 years: 63.8% (male 1,096,225/female 1,112,568) 65 years and over: 13.2% (male 184,303/female 273,143) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.5% (male 4,905,831/female 4,727,177)
15-64 years: 50.8% (male 5,364,711/female 5,172,811) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 274,166/female 282,367) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, soybeans, barley; livestock, beef; fish; forestry | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 60 (2007) | 44 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 29 (2007) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of Washington | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
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. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil 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 that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio 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. | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. |
Birth rate | 14.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 43.07 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $6.6 billion
expenditures: $6.3 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $4.251 billion
expenditures: $4.568 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 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 |
Sanaa |
Climate | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 660 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | 27 November 1966, effective 15 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 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
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 Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] |
Death rate | 9.16 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $12 billion (30 September 2007) | $5.4 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Frank BAXTER
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 Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Saawan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-151 through 159 FAX: [967] (1) 303-160/161/162/164/165 |
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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | in Jan 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina, while the court examines further whether Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with potential environmental implications to both countries; uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina | Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; despite resistance from nomadic groups, the demarcation of the Saudi Arabia-Yemen boundary established under the 2000 Jeddah Treaty is almost complete; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $14.62 million (2005) | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) (2003-07 disbursements) |
Economy - overview | Uruguay's 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. Uruguay in 2007 improved its debt profile by paying off $1.1 billion in IMF debt, and continues to follow the orthodox economic plan set by the Fund in 2005. The construction of a pulp mill in Fray Bentos, which represents the largest foreign direct investment in Uruguay's history at $1.2 billion, came online in November 2007 and is expected to add 1.6% to GDP and boost already rising exports. The economy has grown strongly since 2004 as a result of high commodity prices for Uruguayan exports, a strong peso, growth in the region, and low international interest rates. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has reported strong growth since 2000, but its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. Yemen has worked to maintain tight control over spending and to implement additional components of the IMF program, but a high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. Plans include a diversification of the economy, encouragement of tourism, and more efficient use of scarce water resources. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.03 billion kWh (2007) | 2.827 billion kWh (2002 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 1 billion kWh (2007) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 780 million kWh (2007) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 9.2 billion kWh (2007) | 3.04 billion kWh (2002 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; 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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent) | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 23.947 (2007), 24.048 (2006), 24.479 (2005), 28.704 (2004), 28.209 (2003) | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002), 168.67 (2001), 161.72 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Tabare VAZQUEZ Rosas (since 1 March 2005); 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); Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVOA (since 1 March 2005) 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 in 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: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
Exports | 4,410 bbl/day (2007) | 370,300 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Brazil 15.1%, US 12.1%, Argentina 6.8%, Mexico 6.4%, China 6%, Germany 5%, Russia 4.9% (2006) | Thailand 33.8%, China 30.3%, Singapore 7.8% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.2%
industry: 33% services: 57.8% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 15.5%
industry: 44.7% services: 39.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.2% (2007 est.) | 1.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 S, 56 00 W | 15 00 N, 48 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 | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
Highways | - | total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 34% (2003) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
Imports | 43,670 bbl/day (2007) | NA |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, paper, plastics | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Argentina 20.4%, Brazil 17.1%, US 8.2%, Paraguay 7.2%, China 6.9%, Venezuela 4.8%, Nigeria 4.4% (2006) | UAE 12.2%, Saudi Arabia 9.7%, China 8.8%, France 7.3%, India 4.4%, US 4.4%, Kuwait 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 61.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 66.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 56.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.5% (2007) | 12.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | CAN (associate), CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 2,100 sq km (2003) | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 1.5 million (2007 est.) | 5.98 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 9%
industry: 15% services: 76% (2007 est.) |
most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
Land boundaries | total: 1,648 km
border countries: Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,068 km |
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.77%
permanent crops: 0.24% other: 91.99% (2005) |
arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.24% other: 96.98% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) | Arabic |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.93 years
male: 72.68 years female: 79.3 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 61.75 years
male: 59.89 years female: 63.71 years (2005 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: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | South America | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or edge of continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total: 14 ships (1000 GRT or over) 36,041 GRT/22,274 DWT
by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 4 (Argentina 3, Greece 1) registered in other countries: 7 (Argentina 1, Bahamas 1, Liberia 3, Spain 2) (2007) |
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,766 GRT/24,794 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 2 (2005) |
Military - note | - | a Coast Guard was established in 2002 |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes naval air arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya, FAU) (2006) | Army (includes Special Forces), Naval Forces and Coastal Defenses (includes Marines), Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Republican Guard (2002) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $885.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (2006) | 7.8% (2003) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
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 | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | -0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 257 km; oil 160 km (2007) | gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Broad Front Coalition (Frente Amplio) (formerly known as the Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or EP-FA); 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]; Uruguayan Assembly or Asamblea Uruguay [Danilo ASTORI] | there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, represents the remnants of the former South Yemeni leadership; leaders of the 1994 secessionist movement have been pardoned by President SALIH and some are now returning to Yemen from exile |
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 | NA |
Population | 3,460,607 (July 2007 est.) | 20,727,063 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 27.37% of households (2006) | 45.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0.504% (2007 est.) | 3.45% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aden, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 93, FM 191, shortwave 7 (2005) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (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 (2006) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.948 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully digitalized
domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network; overall fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is approaching 100 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 598; the UNISOR submarine cable system provides direct connectivity to Brazil and Argentina; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002) |
general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
Telephones - main lines in use | 987,000 (2006) | 542,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.333 million (2006) | 411,100 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 62 (2005) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
Total fertility rate | 1.97 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.67 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.2% (2007 est.) | 35% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 1,600 km (2005) | - |