{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon became an important commercial center due to its natural harbor. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence in 1825 and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century launched widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros (or Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-Tupamaros (MLN-T)), 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 restored in 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio (FA) Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and National (Blanco) parties. The left-of-center retained the presidency and control of both chambers of congress until 2019. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "33 00 S, 56 00 W" }, "Map references": { "text": "South America" }, "Area": { "total": { "text": "176,215 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "175,015 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "1,200 sq km" } }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "about the size of Virginia and West Virginia combined; slightly smaller than the state of Washington" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "1,591 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Argentina 541 km; Brazil 1,050 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "660 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "contiguous zone": { "text": "24 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "200 nm or the edge of continental margin" } }, "Climate": { "text": "warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown" }, "Terrain": { "text": "mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Cerro Catedral 514 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Atlantic Ocean 0 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "109 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fish" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "87.2% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 10.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 76.9% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "10.2% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "2.6% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "2,380 sq km (2012)" }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "salt water lake(s)": { "text": "Lagoa Mirim (shared with Brazil) - 2,970 sq km" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Rio de la Plata/Parana river mouth (shared with Brazil [s], Argentina, Paraguay) - 4,880 km; Uruguay river mouth (shared with Brazil [s] and Argentina) - 1,610 kmUruguay rates high for most development indicators and is known for its secularism, liberal social laws, and well-developed social security, health, and educational systems. It is one of the few countries in Latin America and the Caribbean where the entire population has access to clean water. Uruguay's provision of free primary through university education has contributed to the country's high levels of literacy and educational attainment. However, the emigration of human capital has diminished the state's return on its investment in education. Remittances from the roughly 18% of Uruguayans abroad amount to less than 1 percent of national GDP. The emigration of young adults and a low birth rate are causing Uruguay's population to age rapidly.
In the 1960s, Uruguayans for the first time emigrated en masse - primarily to Argentina and Brazil - because of economic decline and the onset of more than a decade of military dictatorship. Economic crises in the early 1980s and 2002 also triggered waves of emigration, but since 2002 more than 70% of Uruguayan emigrants have selected the US and Spain as destinations because of better job prospects. Uruguay had a tiny population upon its independence in 1828 and welcomed thousands of predominantly Italian and Spanish immigrants, but the country has not experienced large influxes of new arrivals since the aftermath of World War II. More recent immigrants include Peruvians and Arabs.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "19.02% (male 330,536/female 319,132)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "65.55% (male 1,110,881/female 1,128,546)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "15.43% (2023 est.) (male 213,750/female 313,419)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "53.6" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "29.9" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "23.7" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "4.2 (2021 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "35.5 years" }, "male": { "text": "33.8 years" }, "female": { "text": "37.3 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "0.27% (2023 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "12.65 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "9.12 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "-0.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "most of the country's population resides in the southern half of the country; approximately 80% of the populace is urban, living in towns or cities; nearly half of the population lives in and around the capital of Montevideo" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "95.8% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "1.774 million MONTEVIDEO (capital) (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.04 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.04 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "0.98 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.68 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "0.94 male(s)/female (2023 est.)" } }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "19 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "8.14 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "9.27 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "78.66 years" }, "male": { "text": "75.58 years" }, "female": { "text": "81.86 years (2023 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "1.75 children born/woman (2023 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "0.86 (2023 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "79.6% (2015)", "note": "note: percent of women aged 15-44" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "9.2% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "4.94 physicians/1,000 population (2017)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "2.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 99.2% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 99.6% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 99.2% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0.8% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0.4% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0.8% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "27.9% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "5.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "1.86 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "2.86 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "0.71 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "21.5% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "24.4% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "18.5% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "1.8% (2018)" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "55.4% (2023 est.)" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "4.6% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "definition": { "text": "age 15 and over can read and write" }, "total population": { "text": "98.8%" }, "male": { "text": "98.5%" }, "female": { "text": "99% (2019)" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "19 years" }, "male": { "text": "17 years" }, "female": { "text": "20 years (2019)" } }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "32.9%" }, "male": { "text": "28.3%" }, "female": { "text": "38.7% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "text": "water pollution from meat packing, tannery industries; heavy metal pollution; inadequate solid and hazardous waste disposal; deforestation" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation" } }, "Climate": { "text": "warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "87.2% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 10.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 76.9% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "10.2% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "2.6% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "95.8% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "1.56% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "8.63 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "6.77 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "25.59 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "1,260,140 tons (2012 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "100,811 tons (2011 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "8% (2011 est.)" } }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "salt water lake(s)": { "text": "Lagoa Mirim (shared with Brazil) - 2,970 sq km" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Rio de la Plata/Parana river mouth (shared with Brazil [s], Argentina, Paraguay) - 4,880 km; Uruguay river mouth (shared with Brazil [s] and Argentina) - 1,610 kmUruguay-Argentina: in 2010, the ICJ ruled in favor of Uruguay's operation of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina; the two countries formed a joint pollution monitoring regime, which ended the dispute
Uruguay-Brazil: uncontested boundary dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question; smuggling of firearms and narcotics continues to be an issue along the Uruguay-Brazil border
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "19,000 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum or have received alternative legal stay) (2022)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "5 (2022)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "transit country for drugs mainly bound for Europe, often through sea-borne containers; limited law enforcement corruption; money laundering; weak border control along Brazilian frontier; increasing consumption of cocaine base and synthetic drugs" } } }