NAVIGATION
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NAVIGATION
Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Republica Oriental del Uruguay
former: Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement, the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to agree to military control of his administration in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold throughout the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
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Geographic coordinates:
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33 00 S, 56 00 W |
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Map references:
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South America |
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Area:
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total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
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Coastline:
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660 km |
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
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Climate:
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warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
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Terrain:
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mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
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Natural resources:
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arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
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Land use:
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arable land: 7.21%
permanent crops: 0.27% other: 92.52% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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1,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts |
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Environment - current issues:
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water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban |
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Geography - note:
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second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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3,413,329 (July 2003 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 24.3% (male 425,642; female 404,987)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 1,057,187; female 1,079,549) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 182,696; female 263,268) (2003 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 31.8 years
male: 30.2 years female: 33.4 years (2002) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.79% (2003 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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17.19 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Death rate:
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8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 15.61 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 75.87 years
male: 72.54 years female: 79.38 years (2003 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.35 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.3% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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6,300 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 500 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
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Ethnic groups:
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white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% |
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Languages:
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Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |