An Overview of the Economy
Uruguay's economy is starting to grow following a crisis period
that began after Brazil's devaluation in early 1999. Unemployment
peaked at 19% in 2003, but fell to 12.2% in 2005. Uruguay's four
years of recession came to an end in 2003, and 2004 showed a
positive economic performance with 12.3% GDP growth. In 2005 GDP
growth reached 6.6%. Government income and expenditure is under
control and Uruguay has been able to comply with its commitments to
the IMF which lent Uruguay around US$3 billion since July 2002 of
which the country repaid its dept in November 2006. With an economy
reliant on live stock and related exports from neighbouring
countries Brazil and Argentina, there is the possibility of another
crash in the future. Its economic stability then is somewhat
volatile.
| statistics |
|
| GDP (PPP) (IMF) (US$Billions) |
37.2 |
| GDP (PPP) (CIA) (US$Billions) |
37.2 |
| GDP Growth (IMF) (%) |
7% |
| GDP Growth (CIA) (%) |
7% |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (IMF) (US$) |
11,621 |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (CIA) (US$) |
11,600 |
| GDP by Sector (%) |
Agriculture: 10.1%
Services: 57.9%
Industry: 15% |
| Inflation (%) |
8.1% |
| Population Below the Poverty Line (%) |
27.4% |
| Labour Force (Millions) |
1.58 |
| Labour Force by Occupation (%) |
Agriculture: 9%
Services: 76%
Industry: 15% |
| Unemployment (%) |
9.2% |
| Main Industries |
Food processing, electrical machinery, transportation
equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals,
beverages. |
Source: CIA World Factbook, IMF
GDP
| economic indicators |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| GDP (US$Billions) |
11.2 |
13.3 |
16.7 |
19.3 |
23.0 |
| GDP Growth (%) |
2.2% |
11.8% |
6.6% |
7% |
7% |
| GDP Per Capita (US$) |
3,317 |
3,903 |
5,227 |
6,036 |
7,172 |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (US$) |
7,202 |
8,218 |
8,584 |
10,578 |
11,621 |
| Inflation (%) |
19.4% |
9.2% |
4.7% |
6.4% |
8.1% |
| Unemployment (%) |
19.4% |
16.0% |
13.0% |
12.2% |
9.2% |
| Mobile Phone Users |
350,000 |
652,000 |
652,000 |
600,000 |
- |
| Internet Users |
400,000 |
400,000 |
400,000 |
680,000 |
756,000 |
Source: IMF, CIA World Factbook
Major Exports & Imports
The Uruguayan economy greatly depends on agriculture, which
accounts for almost 10% of the country's GDP and is the biggest
foreign exchange earner. Farming, finance and tourism industries
are also very important for the growth of the economy, all of which
are performing well. As the country relies heavily on trade to
sustain good economic growth it is very exposed to possible
economic breakdown.
Major Exports 2007
Meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products.
Major Imports 2007
Machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum, paper,
plastics.
| Export partners 2007 |
% of total |
| Brazil |
15% |
| US |
12.1% |
| Argentina |
6.8% |
| Mexico |
6.4% |
| China |
6% |
| Germany |
5% |
| Russia |
4.9% |
| import partners 2007 |
% of total |
| Argentina |
20.4% |
| Brazil |
17.1% |
| US |
8.2% |
| Paraguay |
7.2% |
| China |
6.9% |
| Venezuela |
4.8% |
| Nigeria |
4.4% |
Source: CIA World Factbook
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