URUGUAY
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LAND
186,998 km2; 84% agricultural land (73% pasture, 11% cropland), 16% forest, urban, waste, and other
Land boundaries: 1,352 km
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 200 nm (fishing 200 nm)
Coastline: 660 km
PEOPLE
Population: 2,961,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.6%
Nationality: noun—Uruguayan(s); adjective—Uruguayan
Ethnic divisions: 85-95% white, 5% Negro, 5-10% mestizo
Religion: 66% Roman Catholic (less than half adult population attends church regularly)
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 90.5% for those 15 years of age or older
Labor force: 1.07 million (1975); 19.8% agriculture, 29.0% industry, 51.2% service
Organized labor: government authorized non-Communist union activities in 1981 for the first time since 1973 military takeover
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Type: republic, government under military control
Capital: Montevideo
Political subdivisions: 19 departments with limited autonomy
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 at Montevideo; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 August
Branches: executive, headed by President; since 1973 the military has had dominant influence in policymaking; bicameral legislature (closed indefinitely by presidential decree in June 1973), Council of State set up to act as legislature; national judiciary headed by court of justice
Government leader: President Gregorio ALVAREZ Manfredini
Suffrage: universal over age 18
Elections: projected for 1984
Political parties and leaders: political activities were permitted in mid-1981 for the first time since the military takeover in 1973; parties are scheduled to hold internal elections to choose leaders in November 1982
Voting strength (1971 elections): 40.8% Colorado, 40.1% Blanco, 18.6% Frente Amplio, 0.5% Radical Christian Union
Communists: 5,000-10,000 including former youth group and sympathizers
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
Member of: FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ITU, LAFTA, OAS, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WSG
ECONOMY
GDP: $9.9 billion (1980), $3,400 per capita; 88% consumption, 17% gross investment, −5.0% foreign; real growth rate 1978, 2.5%
Agriculture: large areas devoted to extensive livestock grazing (20 million sheep, 9.5 million cattle), 1979; main crops—wheat, rice, corn, sorghum; self-sufficient in most basic foodstuffs; caloric intake (1977), 3,036 calories per day per capita, with high protein content
Major industries: meat processing, wool and hides, textiles, footwear, cement, petroleum refining
Steel: rolled products 43,398 metric tons produced (1978)
Electric power: 715,000 kW capacity (1981); 3.5 billion kWh produced (1981), 1,160 kWh per capita
Exports: $1,059 million (f.o.b., 1980); wool, hides, meat, textiles
Imports: $1,625 million (f.o.b., 1980); crude petroleum (26%), metals, machinery, transportation equipment, industrial chemicals
Major trade partners: exports—33% EC, 11% US, 40% LAFTA; imports—44% LAFTA (15% Brazil, 17% Argentina), 9% US, 19% EC (1979)
Aid: economic commitments—US including Ex-Im (FY70-80) $61 million; from other Western countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79) $62 million; military—US (FY70-80) $39 million
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