1985 Edition

Agriculture

large areas devoted to extensive livestock grazing; main crops — wheat, rice, corn, sorghum; self-sufficient in most basic foodstuffs

Aid

economic commitments — US authorized, including Ex-Im (FY70-83), $78 million; other Western countries, ODA and OOF (1970-82) $124 million; Communist countries (1970-83), $65 million; militaryUS authorized (FY70-82) $39 million

Airfields

95 total, 91 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,4403,659 m, 16 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Area

tions; 22% other services; unemployment more than 15% (1984 est.)

Branches

executive, headed by President; bicameral National Congress (Senate and House of Deputies); national judiciary headed by court of justice

Army, Navy, Air Force

Budget

(1983 est.) revenues, $854 million; expenditures, $960 million

Capital

Montevideo

Civil air

14 major transport aircraft

Communists

5,000-10,000, including former youth group and sympathizers

Elections

last November 1984; elections held every five years Political parties and leaders: National (Blanco) Party, Wilson Ferreira; Frente Amplio Colition, Liber Seregni; Colorado Party, Julio Sanguinetti Enrique Tarigo, Jorge Pacheco Areco

Electric power

1,300,000 kW capacity (1984); 5 billion kWh produced (1984), 1,709 kWh per capita

Exports

$1.256 billion (f.o.b., 1982); wool, hides, meat, textiles, leather products, fish, rice, furs

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

GDP

$5.4 billion (1983), $1,817 per capita; 89% consumption, 13% gross investment, -2.0% foreign; real growth rate 1983, -4.7%

Government leaders

Julio M. SANGUINETT1, President (since March 1985); Enrique E. TARIGO, Vice President (since March 1985)

Highways

49,900 km total; 6,700 km paved, 3,000 km gravel, 40,200 km earth

Imports

$706 million (c.i.f., 1983); fuels and lubricants (37%), metals, machinery, transportation equipment, industrial chemicals

Inland waterways

1,600 km; used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft

Legal system

based on Spanish civil law system; most recent constitution implemented 1967 but large portions are currently in suspension and the whole is under study for revision; legal education at University of the Republic in Montevideo; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Major industries

meat processing, wool and hides, textiles, footwear, leather apparel, tires, cement, fishing, petroleum refining

Major trade partners

exports — 22% LAIA; 21% EC, 8% US, imports— 39% LAIA (13% Brazil, 11% Argentina), 15% EC, 7% US (1981)

Member of

FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDB— Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, LAIA, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1980, $283.6 million; 16% of central government budget Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides) Espiritu Santo Luganvi South

Military manpower

males 15-49, 679,000; 552,000 fit for military service; no conscription

Monetary conversion rate

57.75 new pesos=US$l (August 1984)

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 August

Official name

Oriental Republic of Uruguay

Organized labor

government authorized non-Communist union activities in 1981 for the first time since 1973 military takeover Government

Other political or pressure groups

Christian Democratic Party (PDC); Communist Party (PCU), proscribed in 1973; Socialist Party of Uruguay (PSU), proscribed in 1973; National Liberation Movement (MLN) — Tupamaros, leftist revolutionary terrorist group, proscribed and now virtually annihilated

Political subdivisions

19 departments with limited autonomy

Ports

1 major (Montevideo), 9 minor

Railroads

3,000 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge (1 .435 m) and government owned

Suffrage

universal over age 18

Telecommunications

most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide radio-relay network 294,300 telephones (9.9 per 100 popl.); 82 AM, 4 FM, 22 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station Defense Forces

Type

republic

Voting strength

(1984 elections) 41% Colorado, 34.9% Blanco, 21.7% Frente Amplio, 2.4% Civic Union, 0.5% Radical Christian Union