Yearbook 2008
Uruguay. As has already happened in most Latin American countries, attempts were also made in Uruguay to change the constitution so that the incumbent president can be re-elected. President Tabaré Vázquez had previously opposed a constitutional change in that direction. But after some of his supporters started a campaign to get 250,000 voter signatures in support of such a change, he declared himself ready to reconsider his decision on the required signatures, corresponding to 10 percent of the electorate, could be shown. The government reform that the President undertook somewhat later was considered his way of stifling competition within the government coalition Frente Amplio (FA) to become his successor.
Vázquez’s decision to exercise his right to veto a bill on free abortion, which the Senate approved in early November, however, made him suddenly unpopular and in early December resigned as leader of the Socialist Party.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER: Click to see the meanings of 2-letter acronym and abbreviation of UY in general and in geography as Uruguay in particular.
Country data
Area: 176,215 km2 (world ranking: 89)
Residents: 3,457,000
Population density: 20 per km2 (as of 2017, world ranking: 133)
Capital: Montevideo
Official languages: Spanish
Gross domestic product: 56.2 billion US $; Real growth: 2.7%
Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 15,250 US$
Currency: 1 Urug. Peso (urug $) = 100 Centésimos
Embassy
Budapester Str. 39, 10787 Berlin
Telephone 030 2639016,
Fax 030 263490170
www.urualemania.de
Government
Head of State and Government: Tabaré Ramón Vázquez RosasLucía Topolansky Saavedra, Outside: Rodolfo Nin Novoa
National holiday: 25.8. (Independence proclamation 1825)
Administrative structure
19 departments
State and form of government
Constitution of 1967
Laic presidential republic
Parliament (Asamblea General): House of Representatives (Cámara de Diputados) with 99 members; Senate (Cámara de Senadores) with 30 members; Election every 5 years.
Direct election of the head of state. every 5 years (no immediate re-election)
compulsory voting from 18 years of age
Population: Uruguayans, last census 2011: 3,286,314 residents
90% of European descent, minorities of European-indigenous and European-African origins
Cities (with population): (As of 2011) Montevideo 1,304,687 pop., Salto 104,011, Ciudad de la Costa 95,176, Paysandú 76,412, Las Piedras 71,258, Rivera 64,465, Maldonado 62,590, Tacuarembó 54,755, Melo 51,830, Mercedes 41,974
Religions: 41% Catholics, 8% other Christians; Minorities of Baha’i, Mormons and Jews; 38% non-denominational (as of 2006)
Languages: Spanish
Employed by economic sector: Agriculture. 8%, industry 20%, business 72% (2017)
Unemployment (in% of the labor force)
2017: 7.9%
Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 6.2%
Foreign trade: Import: 8.5 billion US $ (2017); Export: US $ 7.9 billion (2017)
Climate
The climate is subtropical in the north and temperate in the south. In the coastal regions, the temperatures are similar to the climatic conditions of the coastal regions of southern France, northern Italy and northern Spain, with clearly defined thermal seasons. The annual average temperature there is 16.5 ° C. The warmest month is January with around 22 ° C, while June is the coolest month with an average of 10 ° C. Inland, the mean annual temperature is slightly higher, mainly because of the warmer summer temperatures.
Population 2008
According to Countryaah reports, the population of Uruguay in 2008 was 3,359,164, ranking number 133 in the world. The population growth rate was 0.220% yearly, and the population density was 19.1937 people per km2.