Uruguay-Kathryn

=Uruguay = **OFFICIAL NAME** : Oriental Republic of Uruguay or República Oriental del Uruguay **CAPITAL** : Montevideo **FLAG** : The flag, approved in 1830, has four azure blue horizontal stripes on a white background; on a white canton is a golden sun, alternately straight and wavy. This "Sun of May" symbolizes Uruguay's independence. **ANTHEM** : //Himno Nacional,// which begins "Orientales, la patria o la tumba" ("Easterners [Uruguayans], our country or death"). **MONETARY UNIT** : $1 = UP 28.70 (Uruguayan Peso) as of May 2003. **WEIGHTS AND MEASURES** : The metric system is the legal standard, but some traditional measures also are used. **HOLIDAYS** : New Year's Day, 1 January; Epiphany, 6 January; Landing of the 33, 19 April; Labor Day, 1 May; Battle of Las Piedras, 18 May; Birthday of Artigas, 19 June; Constitution Day, 18 July; Independence Day, 25 August; Columbus Day, 12 October; All Souls' Day, 2 November; Blessing of the Waters, 8 December; Christmas Day, 25 December. **TIME** : 9 AM = noon GMT.

Population
__Statistics:__ 3,477,778 as of July, 2008

Crude Birth Rate:14.17 births/1,000 population Crude Death Rate: 9.12 deaths/1,000 population Rate of Natural Increase: 0.486% Infant Mortality Rate: 11.66 deaths/1,000 live births Life Expectancy: 76.14 years __Stage of Demographic Transition:__ Uruguay is in demographic stage 4. There is a very low birth rate and death rate, which produce virtually non long-term natural increase, possibly even a derease. First, we saw Uruguay make a significant change as it transformed from a predominately rural society to an urban society. But also, the US, which is in stage 4, has an almost identical (slightly higher even) birth rate but a significantly lower death rate than that of Uruguay, so Uruguay has even less births, but more deaths. Plus, the natural increase in the US is nearly double that of Uruguay. So, if the US is in stage 4 with an even bigger difference between the CBR and CDR and a higher NRI, then it is clearly evident that Uruguay is in stage 4, as the death rate and birth rate get closer and closer in number and the growth rate continues to remain so low. [|Population Pyramids of Uruguay] The population in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 3,415,000, which placed it as number 126 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In that year approximately 13% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 25% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 94 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 0.72%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 3,683,000. The population density in 2002 was 19 per sq km (49 per sq mi), about double that of South America as a whole. It was estimated that 91% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001. The capital and only large city, Montevideo, had a population of 1,237,000 in that year.

Immigration
__net immigration rate:__ -0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population Uruguay can be considered the "Switzerland of the West" for its stable democracy, maintenance of the peace, and numerous social benefits such as free education. It was the first country in South America to have universal suffrage with voting obligatory, first country in the world to have a minimum wage scale for agricultural workers, the only country in South America never to have had slavery, the first country to enforce an eight hour work day, and the country with the best health record on the continent and the most advanced social security system in the Americas. For these reasons, Uruguay has always been a very desirable location for immigrants. But Uruguay is now facing an economic crisis, as the younger citizens are leaving the country for greener pastures and new opportunities. There is not a refugee problem in Uruguay.

Folk Culture
[|Culture of Uruguay] Much of Uruguayan folk culture demonstrates the richness of the indigenous people before the European colonists arrived in the nineteenth century. The gaucho (the South American cowboy) and the fantasies of rural life and the great wilderness related to los gauchos (such as horses, campfires, and drum circles) are common themes glorified in Uruguayan folklore. This abstract image created by Uruguayan painter Alejandro Silveira depicts the grandeur of [|the life of the gaucho] in sharp contrast to the bright city lights of the major urban, commercial center of Montevideo.

Language
The official language or Uruguay is Spanish (3,000,000). However, there are many other languages that are spoken but less widely used, including: Catalan-Valencian-Balear, Corsican, Eastern Yiddish, Italian (79,000), Lithuanian, Plautdietsch (1,200), Portuguese (28,000), Russian (14,000), and Standard German (28,000). [|Sample of Popular Music in Uruguay] [|nations encyclopedia article on Urguguayan languages]

Religion
Roman Catholicism is the main religion practiced in Uruguay, by far. Protestant sects of Christianity comprise about 3% of the population and the Jewish population, almost entirely located in Montevideo, amounts to 2%. Though the dominance of Catholicism in Uruguay stems from Spanish colonialism, Uruguay has since secularized dramatically, due to: a more lax enforcement of religion in Uruguay by missionaries in comparison to other Spanish territories in the nineteenth century, the natives' strong resistance to conform, and the introduction of anti-religious concepts in the newly independent nation. "Uruguay's secularization began with the relatively minor role of the church in the colonial era, compared with other parts of the Spanish Empire. The small numbers of Uruguay's Indians, and their fierce resistance to proselytization, reduced the influence of the ecclesiastical authorities. After independence, anticlerical ideas spread to Uruguay, particularly from France, further eroding the influence of the church.... In 1907 divorce was legalized, and in 1909 all religious instruction was banned from state schools. Under the influence of the radical reformer José Batlle y Ordóñez, complete separation of church and state was introduced with the new constitution of 1917." [|One article] states that this separation of church and state is responsible for ending religious conflict in Uruguay.

Ethnicities
In Uruguay, about 88% of the population is white, of European origin: primarily Spanish and Italian, with a small percentage descended from Portuguese, English, and other Europeans. Mestizos, those who are mixed of white and native/indigenous Amerindian lineage, account for 8% of the population. Mulattoes and blacks represent about 4%. The indigenous Charrúa Amerindians have been virtually nonexistent in Uruguay since the early colonial era.

Local Government
Uruguay territorially is divided into 19 departments (provinces). Under the 1966 constitutional revision, each department had a unicameral legislature, but all 19 legislatures were dissolved by President Bordaberry on 28 June 1973. Following the installation of the democratic government in 1985, the departments returned to their pre-1973 status of limited autonomy under the central government. Uruguay is considered a constitutional republic.

Development
Uruguay is largely characterized as a MDC.

Economically, the country has a GDP per capita, estimated in 2007, of $10,700. In relation, LDCs have a GDP per capita ranging from $4,000-$5,000. Uruguay's GDP by sectors is composed of 9.2% of the work force in the primary/ agricultural sector, 33% in the secondary/ industrial sector, and 57.8% in the tertiary/ services sector. media type="custom" key="3113598"

Socially, Uruguay has often been referred to as the first welfare state of South America because its social reform movements were begun in the early 1900s, under the leadership of José Batlle y Ordóñez. Social legislation now provides for a day of rest in every week (plus Saturday afternoon), holidays with pay, minimum wages, annual cash and vacation bonuses, family allowances, compensation for unemployment or dismissal, workers' accident compensation, retirement pensions for rural and domestic workers, old age and disability pensions, and special consideration for working women and minors. The state also provides care for children and mothers, as well as for the blind, deaf, and mute. Free medical attention is available to the poor. Retirement is set at 60 for men and 56 for women. Maternity and sickness benefits are also provided and are funded by contributions of 3% of earnings by the employee and 5% of payroll from the employer. Maternity benefits are paid at 100% of earnings for up to 12 weeks. Work injury and unemployment insurance are available to all employees. Women account for nearly half of the work force but tend to be concentrated in lower paying jobs. Nevertheless, many attend the national university and pursue professional careers. The number of reported cases of spousal abuse has increased dramatically, reflecting a greater willingness by women to confront the problem. Black minorities, accounting for 6% of the population, are severely underrepresented in politics and in the professions. They face considerable discrimination in education and employment. Occasional reports of the use of excessive force by police are reported each year, and judicial delays can result in lengthy pretrial detention. Human rights organizations operate freely in Uruguay. The literacy rate of Uruguay is estimated at 98%.

Demographically, Uruguay has a relatively high life expectancy, and low infant mortality rates and crude birth rates. It's natural increase rate is around 0.4%.

Agriculture
Uruguay has a primarily agriculture-based economy, though this influence is declining. It is specifically a large producer of livestock ranching, and mixed crop, plus grain, commercial gardening, and dairy. Today about 6% of Uruguay's GDP comes from a combination of 40% from agriculture and 60% from animal husbandry. About 3/4 of Uruguay's land area is devoted to livestock raising (primarily on large farms) and about 7% to crop cultivation (primarily on small farms). The principal crops harvested are rice, wheat, barley, corn, sorghum, sunflower seeds, oats, apples, and peaches.

Industry
Industrial Uruguay -- encompassing construction, mining (of granite, marble, and precious metals like gold, silver, and other metals), and energy (petroleum and hydroelectricity) -- composed over 33% of the nation's GDP in 1988. The success of these industries were fostered behind high tariff barriers in the 1950s. Consequently, the foreign industrial market in Uruguay was nearly nonexistent and the domestic market dominated due to lack of competition. But this lack of competition and small internal market resulted in limited growth and development in industry, Plus, producers could afford to charge high prices for their domestic goods, since they knew that consumers had no other option; there were no international competitors marketing the same goods for cheaper prices. This domestic monopoly began to be dismantled in the 1980s when Uruguayan protectionists fought for a more global market, and the trend has continued since.

Services
Uruguay's service sector, comprising the major subsectors of consumer services (tourism), businesses services (banking, transportation, and communications), as well as public services (the activities of the large central government), accounted for 42 percent of GDP in 1988. Transportation, storage, and communications together accounted for about 6 percent of GDP, while banking and commerce accounted for about 15 percent. Thus, half of the so-called service sector consisted of government activity. On the one hand, the service sector was a strong point in the economy because of the well-educated work force concentrated in Montevideo. The growing potential to export services and to integrate them across borders was considered a key element in the future development of Uruguay's outward-oriented economy. http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-14365.html Tourism accounts for a large portion of the service force. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Uruguay.html.

Urban Patterns
Almost 90% of Uruguayans now live in urban areas. Montevideo, has a virtual monopoly on all life in Uruguay-- on commerce, manufacturing, and government services. Within the major urban centers, the wealthy tend to live in the central business districts or the heart of downtown, while the underclasses tend to congregate in the suburbs and outskirts of the cities.

Resource Issues
The following graphs and charts represent the ecological footprint of the nation of Paraguay, not Uruguay; however, these two nations are in a similar state economically and ecologically. For the second data graph, the average ecological footprints of individual Paraguayans are shown. For a reference and comparison, my ecological footprint as a middle class American citizen is 6.1. Associated Graph **Figure 1** tracks, in absolute terms, the average per person resource demand (Ecological Footprint) and per person resource supply (Biocapacity) in Paraguay since 1961. Biocapacity varies each year with ecosystem management, agricultural practices (such as fertilizer use and irrigation), ecosystem degradation, and weather. Associated Graph **Figure 2** shows the components of the average per person Ecological Footprint in Paraguay since 1961.
 * Table 1** outlines some basic data about Paraguay in 2005. Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity are calculated by Global Footprint Network. The Human Development Index is calculated by the United Nations Development Programme.