1989 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1989 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Administrative divisions
1 9 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
Capital
Montevideo
Climate
warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown
Coastline
660 km
Communists
50,000
Comparative area
slightly smaller than Washington State
Constitution
27 November 1966, effective February 1967, suspended 27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980
Continental shelf
200 meters or to depth of exploitation
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Juan Podesta PINON; Chancery at 1918 F Street NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 331-1313 through 1316; there are Uruguayan Consulates General in-I.os Angeles, Miami, and New York, and a Consulate in New Orleans; US — Ambassador Malcolm R. WILKEY; Embassy at Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo (mailing address is APO Miami 34035); telephone [598] (2) 40-90-51
Disputes
short section of boundary with Argentina is in dispute; two short sections of the boundary with Brazil are in dispute (Arroyo de la Invernada area of the Rio Quarai and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay)
Elections
President — last held 26 November 1989 (next to be held November 1994); results— Luis Lacalle (Blanco) 37%, Jorge Batlle (Colorado) 29%, Liber Seregni (Broad Front) 20%; Senate— last held 26 November 1989 (next to be held November 1994); results — Blanco 40%, Colorado 30%, Broad Front 23% New Space 7%; seats — (30 total) Blanco 1 2, Colorado 9, Broad Front 7, New Space 2; Chamber of Deputies — last held NA November 1 989 (next to be held November 1994); results— Blanco 39%, Colorado 30%, Broad Front 22%, New Space 8%, others 1%; seats — (99 total) number of seats by party NA
Environment
subject to seasonally high winds, droughts, floods
Executive branch
president, vice president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Flag
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
Independence
25 August 1 828 (from Brazil)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Land boundaries
1,564 km total; Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km
Land use
8% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 78% meadows and pastures; 4% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 1% irrigated
Leaders
Chief of State and Head of Government— President Luis Alberto LACALLE (since 1 March 1990); Vice President Gonzalo AGUIRRE (since 1 March 1990) Political parties and leaders: National (Blanco) Party, Roberto Rubio; Colorado Party; Broad Front Coalition, Liber Seregni includes Communist Party led by Jaime Perez and National Liberation Movement (MLN) or Tupamaros led by Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro; New Space Coalition consists of the Party of the Government of the People (PGP) led by Hugo Batalla, Christian Democratic Party (PDC), and Civic Union led by Humberto Ciganda
Legal system
based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral Congress (Congreso) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camera del Diputados)
Member of
CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, 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
National holiday
Independence Day, 25 August (1828)
Natural resources
soil, hydropower potential, minor minerals
Suffrage
universal and compulsory at age
Terrain
mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland
Territorial sea
200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm)
Total area
1 76,220 km2; land area: 173,620 km2
Total area
126km ft/o dels Plata Set refionil map IV
Type
republic
People and Society
Birth rate
1 7 births/ 1 ,000 population (1990)
Death rate
10 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
88% white, 8% mestizo, 4% black
Infant mortality rate
22 deaths/ 1 ,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
1 ,300,000; 25% government, 19% manufacturing, 11% agriculture, 12% commerce, 12% utilities, construction, transport, and communications, 21% other services (1988 est.)
Language
Spanish
Life expectancy at birth
70 years male, 76 years female (1990)
Literacy
94%
Nationality
noun — Uruguayan(s); adjective— Uruguayan
Net migration rate
- 2 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
Interunion Workers' Assembly/National Workers' Confederation (PIT/CNT) Labor Federation
Population
3,036,660 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)
Religion
66% Roman Catholic (less than half adult population attends church regularly), 2% Protestant, 2% Jewish, 30% nonprofessing or other
Total fertility rate
2.4 children born/ woman (1990)
Government
Long-form name
Oriental Republic of
Economy
Overview
The economy is slowly recovering from the deep recession of 1981-84. In 1986 real GDP grew by 6.6% and in 1987 by 4.9%. The recovery was led by growth in the agriculture and fishing sectors, agriculture alone contributing 20% to GDP, employing about 1 1% of the labor force, and generating a large proportion of export earnings. Raising livestock, particularly cattle and sheep, is the major agricultural activity. In 1988, despite healthy exports and an improved current account, domestic growth slowed because of gov-