Marta+Ceballos+(3ºC)

=My Country Facts: Eastern Republic of Uruguay=


 * //Official country name://** It was first known as Eastern Band, which also included part of the present Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, but on 1828, when it became an independent state, it changes its name to the actual one, Eastern Republic of Uruguay.


 * Uruguay is a small South American country located at the southern part of the continent, bordered by Brazil in the north and east, Argentina in the west and South Atlantic Ocean, which provides the maritime boundary to the country in the south. The geographic coordinates of the country are 34° 53' S latitudes and 56° 10' W longitudes.




 * The total area of Eastern Republic of Uruguay is of 176,215 km 2 being the second smallest country of South America after Suriname. The percentage of water is of 1,5.


 * The most important cities of this country are:
 * 1) //**Montevideo:**// is the capital and the most populated city with 1 319 108 inhabitants.
 * 2) //**Punta del Este:**// is a city and resort on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department with a total area of 20.35 km2.
 * 3) **//Colonia del Sacramento://** (26 231 hab.)
 * 4) //**Fray Ventos:**// Its total population is of 24 406 hab.


 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay consists of 19 departments and 89 municipalities:

Departments: Area: Population: Density: Capital:
 * Artigas || 11,928 || 73,378 || 6.15 || Artigas ||
 * Canelones || 4,536 || 520,187 || 114.68 || Canelones ||
 * Cerro Largo || 13,648 || 84,698 || 6.21 || Melo ||
 * Colonia || 6,106 || 123,203 || 20.18 || Colonia del Sacramento ||
 * Durazno || 11,643 || 57,088 || 4.90 || Durazno ||
 * Flores || 5,144 || 25,050 || 4.87 || Trinidad ||
 * Florida || 10,417 || 67,048 || 6.44 || Florida ||
 * Lavalleja || 10,016 || 58,815 || 5.87 || Minas ||
 * Maldonado || 4,793 || 164,300 || 34.28 || Maldonado ||
 * Montevideo || 530 || 1,319,108 || 2,489 || Montevideo ||
 * Paysandú || 13,922 || 113,124 || 8.13 || Paysandú ||
 * Rivera || 9,370 || 103,493 || 11.04 || Rivera ||
 * Rocha || 10,551 || 68,088 || 6.45 || Rocha ||
 * Río Negro || 9,282 || 54,765 || 5.90 || Fray Bentos ||
 * Salto || 14,163 || 124,878 || 8.82 || Salto ||
 * San José || 4,992 || 108,309 || 21.70 || San José de Mayo ||
 * Soriano || 9,008 || 82,595 || 9.17 || Mercedes ||
 * Tacuarembó || 15,438 || 90,053 || 5.83 || Tacuarembó ||
 * Treinta y Tres || 9,676 || 48,134 || 4.97 || Treinta y Tres ||




 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay joined to United Nations on December 18, 1945, as well as Argentina, Australia, Canada, China…

//**People:**//

 * The people living in Eastern Republic of Uruguay are called Uruguayan people or Uruguayans.


 * The official language of Uruguay is Spanish or Castilian, spoken by the majority of the inhabitants (98, 90%). The Spanish dialect of Uruguay belongs to the Rio de la Plata, and has many similarities with the one spoken in Buenos Aires. The only change in Spanish is the widespread use of "vos", instead of "you”. It is also spoken Portuguese and Portuñol, which is a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese, in some parts of the borders. In the past, there used to be a good group of people who spoke Italian or French as their first language, but has been lost over time. There is also a significant minority who speak Catalan, Russian, Corsican, German, and Lithuanian… In addition to the Spanish, public educations teach English in schools in order to provide basic knowledge.


 * Uruguay has no official religion for being a secular state; it is also the Latin American country with the largest number of atheists. Eastern Republic of Uruguay has about 83% of believers (the 17% left have metaphysical beliefs). Roman Catholicism is the most-practiced religion (41%). In addition, approximately 38% are atheists or agnostics and 8% Protestants.

**//Flag://**

 * The drawing of the sun is a radiant circle with sixteen rays (eight straight and eight alternately wavy), with a diameter of 11/15 white box. This sun, known as “Sol de Mayo” is a representation of the Inca sun´s god, Inti. Its name refers to the May Revolution, which occurred on 25 May 1810. It marked the beginning of the process of independence from Spain in the modern countries that then formed the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. The Uruguayan national flag colors are taken from the colors of the flag of the United Provinces. The nine horizontal stripes spread on the field represent the nine original departments. Manuel Belgrano proposed as color´s fringes one like the turquoise because it was one of the colors of the House of Bourbon. But during that time it was quite difficult to find cloth turquoise, so it was decided to provisionally use the blue or light blue.



**//Government://**

 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay is a mixed or semi-representative democracy, in which, the government is the one that made the decisions, although certain forms of direct government are kept by the people.


 * The name of the leader is Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas; he was elected president on October 31, 2004. As President, he presided over considerable improvements in education and working conditions, a significant expansion of the welfare system, and a dramatic reduction in poverty. In 2010, he left the power with a higher Popularity Index of 70%. After him, José Mujica ruled over the country, but on 1 March 2015, when the elections were celebrated, Tabaré Vázquez was again elected president of Eastern Republic of Uruguay with 50,6% of votes. He is the first left government.




 * Uruguay is a constitutional republic, which is a system of government with a president who serves as both head of state and head of government.


 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay have a separation of powers, so that no institution monopolies all the power:


 * //Executive power//** is exercised by the President, acting in accordance with the Minister, Ministers, or the Council of Ministers. The president is both head of state and head of government and is elected together with the vice president by direct popular election. The President appoints the Ministries, which then must have the support of Parliament. They are chosen in the same nomination submitted by the respective party. In the event that no candidate obtains an absolute majority of the vote, we proceed to a second round between the two first majorities. In that vote is won by the candidate who obtains a simple majority of votes.


 * //Legislative power//** is exercised in the General Assembly, consisting of a Senate of thirty-one members (counting the Vice-president) and a House of Representatives of 99 members. Deputies are elected by department, while senators are elected nationwide, both for five-year terms. Each of the 19 departments of Eastern Republic of Uruguay is headed by a popularly elected mayor.


 * //The judiciary//** is headed by the Supreme Court, whose members are appointed by the General Assembly, and whose mandates last ten years or until they turn 70 years old. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal and is also responsible for judging the constitutionality of laws. Judicial power is also composed of Courts of Appeal, Courts and Magistrates' Courts Lawyers.

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 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay has a multi-party system, which is a system in which multiple political parties run for national elections, and all have a similar or equal chance of gaining control of government. The main political parties of Eastern Republic of Uruguay are:


 * //Broad Front://** (Frente Amplio) is a center-left political party, led by socialist Mónica Xavier. It was founded in the year 1971 and its main headquarters are located in Montevideo. It´s ideology is social democracy. It is composed of 16 senators, 50 deputies, 6 intendancies and 37 mayors.




 * //National party://** (Partido Nacional), also known as White Party is a major right-wing political party. The president of this party is Luis Alberto Héber. It was founded 179 years ago by Manuel Oribe. It´s main ideology is the Uruguayan nationalism, Liberal conservatism and Economic liberalism.




 * //The Colorado party://** (Partido Colorado) was founded in the year 1836 by Fructuoso Rivera, but now, this party is led by Max Sapolinski. Its ideology is liberalism It is composed by 13 deputies and 4 senates and the main colors of this party are the red and the yellow.




 * //Independent party://** (Partido Independiente) is a social democratic and Christian humanist political party. This party is led by Pablo Mieres, who was presidential candidate in the 2004 national elections and in 2009. This political party was founded in 2003. Its main headquarters are located in Montevbideo.




 * //Popular Unity://** (Unidad Popular) is a left party founded in the year 2013 and is composed of a lot of political parties. Its ideology is Socialism and Communism.




 * //The Ecologist Radical Intransigent Party://** (Partido Ecologista Radical Intransigente) is a Uruguayan green party established in 2013 by César Vega, who is the actual president of this party. Its ideologies are Political ecology, sustainability, and its main colours are the green and yellow.

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 * In 1816, Eastern Band (old name of Uruguay) fell under the ruled of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarve, and some years after, they decided to include the territory to Portugal under the name of Cisplatin Province. In the year 1825 there was a revolution known as the Thirty-Three Orientals, which continued with the War of Brazil between the Empire and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. As Uruguay won this war, in 1828 it gain independence and change its name to the actual one when they signed the Preliminary Peace Convention.

//**Population**://

 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay have 3,286,314 inhabitants


 * The population density of Eastern Republic of Uruguay is of 18,78 hab./km²




 * The estimated birth rate of Uruguay is of 13,18 per 1,000 inhabitants. The reasons that explain why this country have such as low birth rate is that they have access to contraceptives, the difficulties to find work as the mothers has spent a lot of time with them, the cost for maintaining children are very high and Eastern Republic of Uruguay isn´t a country with a lot of money. It is also because it is a country that have experienced wars or high levels of migrations.


 * The mortality rate of Eastern Republic of Uruguay is of 9.45 deaths/1,000 population. The reasons that explain why this country have such as high mortality rate is that people are not very healthy as they work till they died, it is also because this country have a lot of old population and a small group of young people.


 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay have a 0,26 natural growth, which is a very low growth. It is situated on the number 174 out of 232 countries. The reasons that explain why Eastern Republic of Uruguay have such as low natural growth is that in this country a lot of of people died and only a few more are born.


 * Migrations affect this country because if all the young people of Eastern Republic of Uruguay left the country the economy will not be very good in the future as the population will be very low. Other way in which it affects Uruguay is that if a lot of people migrate to this country, the unemployment rate will increased.

//**Migrations:**//

 * Actually there are 77,000 immigrants in Eastern Republic of Uruguay. Most of them come from Argentina and Brazil, but there are also a small group that comes from Spain (16.482) and Italy. Argentinians migrate to this country looking for better safety and to get out of conflict, Uruguayan culture presents significant similarities with the Italian culture; in terms of language, customs and traditions, so that’s why many Italians go there. Spanish people migrate to Uruguay to benefit from the double nationality allowed between the two countries.


 * 20,000 Uruguayans migrate every year to other countries. Most of them go to Argentina, United States, Spain, Italy, France and Germany either for political or economic reasons or looking for a better quality life.


 * The legislation of Uruguay connected to migrations appears in the Law 18,250. These are the principles articles of this law:

Eastern Republic of Uruguay recognizes as a right of migrants and their families the right to migration, the right to family reunification, equality of rights with nationals, without discrimination based on sex, race, color, language, religion or belief, political opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality…

Admission, entry, stays and exit of people into the country is governed by the provisions of the Constitution. The term "migrant" refers to any foreigner who enters the country with the intention to reside and settle in it, either permanently or temporarily.

The Uruguayan State guarantees migrants' rights and privileges agreed between the laws of the Republic and international instruments ratified by the country.


 * Ministry of Interior National Immigration is the institution in charge of migrants. They are the ones that records income and expenditure of the country people, exercise the power of immigration police, and decides on the admission of persons to the country.


 * The main problems connected to migrations are:

If all the young population migrate to other countries, the economy will not be very good as they are the ones that work.

Other problem is that if a lot of people migrate to Eastern Republic of Uruguay, there will be a very low employment rate or the salaries will be reduced.

The increase in the population can put pressure over the public services as the country has a lot of people.

**//Geography://**

 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay is located in the southeastern region of South America.


 * Uruguay is bordered by Brazil in the north and east, Argentina in the west and South Atlantic Ocean, which provides the maritime boundary to the country in the south


 * Uruguayan relief is characterized by its low altitude. We can distinguish two structural areas:

Sediment in the Northeast, Basalt on the coast and Lens in the center-south and the crystalline island Rivera.
 * //Peneplains//**, which are the remains of ancient mountain ranges, now completely eroded. They are very undulating and with rivers embedded in the landscape relief. They extend over most of the country and three subsectors are distinguished:


 * //The plains//** which are expanse of flat or slightly undulating land caused by the accumulation of sediments carried by the rivers. It includes territories almost horizontal.


 * //Mountains://** It is a succession of mountains linked together.

In the mountains of Maldonado we can find the Cerro Catedral, which is the highest point in the country with 514 meters.

The positive consequences of this landscape are that as Eastern Republic of Uruguay has a lot of plains, this country has a lot of space to cultivate, so more goods are obtain.

The negative things of this relief are that the lack of mountain ranges stabilizes the climate and there can be substantial shifts in any season.




 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay has a warm temperate climate with almost unknown freezing temperatures because it is located within the tropic of Capricorn, Uruguay have warm summers (from June to August) and crisp winters (from December to February). The weather remains quite uniform from one region to another and there are no extremes of temperatures.There is a big swing difference in temperatures and sunshine between winter and summer but things never get too extreme in either direction, so things are never too hot or too cold. The lack of major mountain ranges, to stabilize the weather, may explain why there can be substantial shifts in any season from one day to the next. Uruguay has the perfect climate for a variety of crops and there’s a wide range of locally-grown foods available. Because of its mild climate, the country can be enjoyed throughout the year. Uruguay has four distinct seasons, but does not have ice or snow. It does however; get 41 inches of rainfall per year. It can reach the mid-90s (34° C) during the summer, and in the winter most days hit 60° F. The negative consequence of this climate is that it doesn’t rain a lot, so sometimes there are droughts.



//**Fauna:**//




//**Flora:**//




//**Economy:**//

 * The most common sector of employment in Eastern Republic of Uruguay is the tertiary sector (tourism, teaching and doctors). Mineral and energy resources are scarce, and the main industries are of paper and cardboard, cement and oil refining.


 * The Employment Rate in Uruguay decreased to 57.69 percent in September from 58.37 percent in August of 2015, and the unemployment rate is of 6,5%.

> The secondary sector which included the activities involved in converting raw material into manufactured products such as industry, occupies the 24%. > The tertiary sector (tourism, teaching and doctors) is the most employment sector of Eastern Republic of Uruguay with a percentage of 66,6%.
 * The primary sector (agriculture, livestock, mining, fishing and logging) occupies 9,4%.
 * This are the production, consumption, exports and imports of some products in Eastern Republic of Uruguay:

**//Energy//** production in Uruguay was last measured at 1865,43 in 2011, according to the World Bank. Energy production refers to forms of primary energy, petroleum, natural gas, solid fuels, and combustible renewables and waste, and primary electricity, all converted into oil equivalents. Energy consumption is of 1,200MW per year. Energy imports are of 160 MW, and energy exports are about 150MW in 2014. **//Electricity//** production is of 9.5 billion kWh, and is the annual electricity generated expressed in kilowatt-hours. The discrepancy between the amount of electricity generated and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is accounted for as loss in transmission and distribution.Electricity consumption was of 7.96 billion kWh in 2011. Electricity-exports are of 19 million kWh. Electricity imports are the total imported electricity in kilowatt-hours. Eastern Republic of Uruguay spends477 million kWh in 2011. **//Oil//** production:1,183 bbl/day (2012) and is the total oil produced in barrels per day. The discrepancy between the amount of oil produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is due to the omission of stock changes, refinery gains, and other complicating factors. Oil exports are of 0 bbl/day (including both crude oil and oil products.). Oil-imports are more or less about 38,680bbl/dayin the year 2010. **Refined petroleum products** production: 43,440 bbl/day. Is the country's total output of refined petroleum products. The discrepancy between the amount of refined petroleum products produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is due to the omission of stock changes, refinery gains, and other complicating factors. Refined petroleum products consumption is of 51,100 bbl/day. Refined petroleum products exports are of 4,656 barrels per day. And finally, refined petroleum products imports:16,420bbl/day and is the country's total imports of refined petroleum products. **//Natural gas//** production: 0 cubic meters. Natural gas-consumption is about 80 million cu m and is the total natural gas consumed. The discrepancy between the amount of natural gas produced and/or imported and the amount consumed and/or exported is due to the omission of stock changes and other complicating factors.Natural gas-exports are of 0 cubic meters; this means that Eastern Republic of Uruguay doesn’t export natural gas.Natural gas imports: 80 million cu. **//Carbon dioxide//** emissions from consumption of energy is the total amount of carbon dioxide, measured in metric tons, released by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. In Uruguay was last measured at 8.326 million in 2011.

//**Domestic Policy:**//

 * The main current issues that affect Eastern Republic of Uruguay in domestic policy are public security, which is the most important issue in Eastern Republic of Uruguay as it occupies the 34%, then, the second one are the drugs, 21%. After them, it comes teaching with the 19%. Jobs and works occupy the 5% as well as poverty and taxes. Then, healthcare with the 4% and at last, violence and house, 2%


 * Health policies are the decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific health care goals within a society. According to the World Health Organization, an explicit health policy can achieve several things: it defines a vision for the future; it outlines priorities and the expected roles of different groups; and it builds consensus and informs people.

The main objectives of healthcare are: Maximize health. Reducing health inequalities. Favor those who deserve it, against those who do not, depending on their lifestyles.

Political decisions can change the social landscape and the health organization of a country, region or locality. These decisions depend on: The ideology of political parties People with public responsibilities for their social sensitivity and knowledge Political attitude to the need and ability of physicians.

Increase and accelerate the teaching time understood as a necessary condition to guarantee the right to education.
 * The main policies about education are the following:

Schools strengthen their resources and their capacity for initiative and collective management.

Articulate diversified universal policies, and comprehensive policies to address specific features and offset inequalities.

Promote teacher professional development: lifelong learning, the teaching profession, social recognition and professional performance.

Promote the educational use of technologies, encourage innovation and digital inclusion.


 * 30% are the total taxes and other revenues received by the national government during the year 2013, expressed as a percent of GDP. Taxes include personal and corporate income taxes, value added taxes, excise taxes, and tariffs. Other revenues include social contributions such as payments for social security and hospital insurance, grants and net revenues from public enterprises. Normalizing the data, by dividing total revenues by GDP, enables easy comparisons across countries, and provides an average rate at which all income is paid to the national level government for the supply of public goods and services.

Government Revenues in Uruguay decreased to 24444.34 UYU Million in October from 24469.19 UYU Million in September of 2015. Government Revenues in Uruguay is reported by the Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas, Uruguay.


 * Some taxes that must be paid in Eastern Republic of Uruguay are:

The basic rate for IVA in Uruguay is 22% for most goods, and 14% for certain basic goods. Like most of the world’s countries and unlike the U.S. This sales tax is included in the marked price of an item; taxes are not added at the register.
 * //Value Added Tax (VAT)://** This tax is known throughout the Spanish-speaking world as the Impuesto al Valor Agregado, or IVA, and is basically a sales tax, a rather large sales tax.


 * //Property taxes://** The municipal property tax (known as contribución inmobiliaria) runs from 0.25% to 1.2% of the market value of the property.

There is also a **//school tax//**, ( Impuesto a la enseñanza primaria). The rate is approximately 0.1% to 0.3% of the market value. This tax does not apply to rural properties.


 * //Income tax for individuals://** Personal Income Tax on wages or fees as an independent worker (IRPF) is only paid on income generated within Uruguay, on the amount over 173,124 pesos per year. The tax rate ranges from 10% to 25%, and certain expenses are deductible. The IRPF is paid by Uruguayan citizens and foreign residents who are in Uruguay more than 183 days per year.


 * //Rental income tax for individuals://** Individuals who rent out their property must pay a flat income tax of 12%. This is not in addition to the personal income tax above.


 * //Capital gains tax://** The capital gains tax rate is 12% for individuals, 12% for foreign corporations, and 25% for Uruguayan corporations.


 * In 2014 public debt in Eastern Republic of Uruguay was 26.491 million euros; 424 million grew from 2013 when it was 26.067 million euros. This figure means that the debt in 2014 reached 61.27% of GDP in Uruguay, a rise of 1.08 points compared to 2013, in which the debt was 60.19% of GDP. Uruguay’s debt has grown since 2004 in terms of overall debt, when it was 10.314 million euros, although it has declined as a percentage of GDP, this year was 93.55% of GDP. According to the latest data published, the per capita debt in Uruguay in 2014 was 7,782 euros per inhabitant. In 2013 it was 7.685 euros, so there has been an increase in debt per capita of 97 euros.

//**Foreign Policy:**//

 * The most important issue that affects Eastern Republic of Uruguay in foreign policy is that it forms part of Mercosur, a sub-regional bloc. The main purpose of Mercosur is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. The official languages are Spanish, Portuguese and Guarani as it members are Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela and Bolivia. It has been updated, amended, and changed many times. It is now a full customs union and a trading bloc. Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations are customs unions that are components of a continuing process of South American integration connected to the Union of South American Nations.




 * There were a lot of conflicts and wars that affected Eastern Republic of Uruguay, but the most important were:


 * //The Portuguese conquest of the Eastern Band//** was a very important conflict as this territory was annexed to the Kingdom of Brazil under the name of Cisplatin Province. It occurred between 1816 and 1820 in the actual Eastern Republic of Uruguay.


 * //The Cisplatine War//** was an armed conflict in the 1820s between the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and the Empire of Brazil. The result of this conflict was that Brazil lost the territory of Cisplatin, but never became part of the United Provinces; instead, it became an Independent state, Eastern Republic of Uruguay.


 * Eastern Republic of Uruguay has a serious conflict with Argentina from 2005 to 2010 because the Uruguayan government gave permission to build two pulp plants in its territory and on the Uruguay River near the Uruguayan populations of Fray Bentos and Gualeguaychú. In 2013 the conflict resurfaced because the Uruguayan government wanted to increase the production.

1.95% of GDP (2012) 1.94% of GDP (2011) 1.95% of GDP (2010)
 * The Military expenditures were:

This entry gives spending on defense programs for the most recent year available as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP); the GDP is calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

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