Uruguay

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Country summary

Capital

Montevideo

Borders

Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,068 km

Government type

constitutional republic

Population

3,494,382 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

0.466% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

76.35 years[1]

Unemployment

7.6% (2009 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

33[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

25[3]

Doing Business ranking

114[4]


Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, 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 not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Uruguayan peso (ISO code: UYU)
  • Central bank discount rate: 10% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: 12.45% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $2.247 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $9.409 billion (31 December 2008)[1]

Notable events:

  • Banking crisis: 1893, September 1898, March 1971, 1981-1984, 2002[5]
  • Years in inflation: 18% (share of years 1811-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)
  • Public default: 1876-1878, 1891, 1915-1921, 1932-1938, 1965, 1983-1985, 1987, 1990-1991, 2003 (external), 1932-1937 (domestic)[6]

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[7] 23 984 22 823 20 899 13 606 12 046 13 686 17 363 20 023 24 254 32 186
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[8] 40.643 95.268 105.603 85.426 76.114 67.499 56.478 54.015
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[9] 24.123 24.681 24.849 24.774 24.869 25.605 26.338 26.755 25.586 25.012
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[10] 26.442 26.551 27.270 27.891 27.913 26.592 26.557 26.269 25.572 24.155
Debt to revenue (years) 1.636 3.845 4.246 3.336 2.890 2.523 2.207 2.160

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Uruguay", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  2. ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Uruguay", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  3. ↑ Transparency International. "Uruguay", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  4. ↑ Doing Business. "Uruguay", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  5. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 391. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  6. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart. "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises" (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 120. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  7. ↑ World Bank. "Uruguay: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  8. ↑ World Bank. "Uruguay: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  9. ↑ World Bank. "Uruguay: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  10. ↑ World Bank. "Uruguay: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.

Links

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