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Uruguay is a Country of South America. Bathed by the
Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast, and by the estuary of
the River Plate, to the south, it borders Argentina, to
the west, and Brazil, to the north and northeast. It
covers an area of 176 220 km2. The most
important cities are Montevideo, the capital, with 1 346
900 inhabitants (2004), Salto (103 800 inhab.), Ciudad
de la Costa (103 500 inhab.), Paysandú (78 700 inhab.)
And Las Piedras (73 000 inhab.). The climate is humid
subtropical. The rain spreads throughout the year, but
with greater incidence in the warmer months.
Economy
Uruguay has an economy based on services, industry,
agriculture and livestock. The dominant crops are rice,
sugar cane, barley, beet, potatoes, corn and
wheat. Livestock, especially sheep and cattle, has a
significant weight in exports. National imports are made
up almost exclusively of fuels and metals. The industry
produces foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, petroleum
products, textiles, footwear, transport equipment,
tobacco, leather products and paper products. Uruguay's
largest trading partners are Brazil, Argentina, the
United States of America and Italy. Environmental
indicator: the value of carbon dioxide emissions, per
capita (metric tons, 1999), is 2.0.
Population
The population was, in 2006, 3 431 932 inhabitants,
which corresponds to a density of approximately 12.5
inhab./km2. The birth and death rates are
respectively 13.91% and 9.05%. Average life expectancy
is 76.33 years. The value of the Human Development Index
(HDI) is 0.834 and the value of the Gender-adjusted
Development Index (IDG) is 0.830 (2001). It is estimated
that, in 2025, the population will be 3 985 000
inhabitants. The main ethnic groups are white (86%) and
mestizo (8%). The religion with the greatest expression
is Catholic (79%), followed by Protestant (8%). The
official language is Castilian.
History
The Spanish settled in Uruguay in 1624 and, in 1680, it
was the Portuguese's turn. But in the 18th century, the
Spaniards came to completely control the territory. In
1814, the colonizers' administration was overthrown by
José Artigas, dictator until 1820, the year in which
Brazil took over the country. In 1825 it gained
independence, although neighboring countries did not
recognize it until 1853. Between 1825 and 1828, it was
disputed by Argentina and Brazil. Between 1839 and 1851,
the country experienced a civil war, caused by the
conflicts between the two main parties, the Colorado
Party (Red), liberal, and the White Party (White),
conservative. In 1865 Uruguay became involved in a
five-year war with Paraguay.
José Battle Ordóñez, of the Colorado Party, was
elected president in 1903. His programs allowed for a
certain social and political stability until 1929, the
year he died. A dictatorial period followed, but in 1951
a new constitution was created. In 1958 (white)
nationalists won the elections, but the rise in
inflation and the economic crisis sparked the activity
of terrorism, giving rise to a military coup in 1973.
Power was seized by the rebels and human rights
violations became common by the military government. In
1985 there were general elections and Julio Maria
Sanguinetti, a liberal, became president of Uruguay. The
new executive's priority was to free all political
prisoners and completely restore civil rights. All
parties started to have representation in the
government. In the following elections, four years
later, conservative Luis Lacalle Herrera was elected
president. In 1994, Julio Maria Sanguinetti returned to
power. In the 1999 presidential elections, Jorge Battle
was elected, who took power on March 1, 2000.
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