UYU

Exchange rates:

Uruguayan pesos (UYU) per US dollar - 23.947 (2007), 24.048 (2006), 24.479 (2005), 28.704 (2004), 28.209 (2003)

Communications
Uruguay

Telephones - main lines in use:

965,200 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

3.004 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: fully digitalized domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network; overall fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is 115 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 598; the UNISOR submarine cable system provides direct connectivity to Brazil and Argentina; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 93, FM 191, shortwave 7 (2005)

Radios:

1.97 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

62 (2005)

Televisions:

782,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.uy

Internet hosts:

480,593 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

14 (2001)

Internet users:

968,000 (2007)

Transportation
Uruguay

Airports:

60 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 9 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 29 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 257 km; oil 160 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 2,073 km standard gauge: 2,073 km 1.435-m gauge note: 461 km have been taken out of service and 460 km are in partial use (2006)

Roadways:

total: 77,732 km paved: 7,743 km unpaved: 69,989 km (2004)

Waterways:

1,600 km (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 17 by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 10 (Argentina 3, Greece 1, Spain 6) registered in other countries: 3 (Liberia 3) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Montevideo

Military
Uruguay

Military branches:

Uruguayan Armed Forces: Army (Ejercito), Navy (Armada Nacional; includes naval air arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya, FAU) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service; enlistment is voluntary in peacetime, but the government has the authority to conscript in emergencies (2007)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 837,252 females age 16-49: 824,096 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 703,955 females age 16-49: 690,296 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 27,082 female: 26,075 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1.6% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Uruguay

Disputes - international:

in Jan 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina, while the court examines further whether Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with potential environmental implications to both countries; uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina

Illicit drugs:

small-scale transit country for drugs mainly bound for Europe, often through sea-borne containers; law enforcement corruption; money laundering because of strict banking secrecy laws; weak border control along Brazilian frontier; increasing consumption of cocaine base and synthetic drugs

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Uzbekistan

Introduction
Uzbekistan

Background:

Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include terrorism by Islamic militants, economic stagnation, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization.

Geography
Uzbekistan

Location:

Central Asia, north of Afghanistan

Geographic coordinates: