Economy of Uruguay

File:GDP per capita development of Uruguay.svg

Historical GDP per capita development

The economy of Uruguay features an export-oriented agricultural sector and a well-educated workforce, along with high levels of social spending. Tourism and banking are also prominent sectors; Uruguay acts as a regional hub for international finance and tourism. The country also has a history and representation of advanced workers-rights protection, with unions and the eight-hour work-day protected at the beginning of the 20th century.

90% of the country's population is urbanized, while most of the industry and over half of the population is concentrated in the capital Montevideo.<ref name=":0" />

After averaging growth of 5% annually during 1996–98, Uruguay's economy suffered a major downturn in 1999–2002, stemming largely from the spillover effects of the economic problems of its large neighbors; Argentina and Brazil. In 2001–02, Argentine citizens made massive withdrawals of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks after bank deposits in Argentina were frozen, which led to a plunge in the Uruguayan peso, causing the 2002 Uruguay banking crisis.

History

19th century

In the 19th century, the country had similar characteristics to other Latin American countries: caudillismo, civil wars and permanent instability (40 revolts between 1830 and 1903), foreign capitalism's control of important sectors of the economy, a high percentage of illiterate people (more than half the population in 1900). Among foreign investments, investors from Great Britain controlled 22% of the land and many majors parts of the industrial infrastructure, including meatpacking and leather industry, infrastructure for water and gas, and transport systems like trolley and 1100 miles of rail.<ref name=":0" />

In 1857, the first nationally owned bank, Banco Comercial, was founded.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Reforms after Batlle

José Batlle y Ordóñez, President from 1903 to 1907 and again from 1911 to 1915, set the pattern for Uruguay's modern political development and dominated the political scene until he died in 1929. Batlle introduced widespread political, social, and economic reforms such as a welfare program, government participation in many facets of the economy, and a new constitution.<ref name=":1" />

Batlle nationalized foreign-owned companies and created a modern social welfare system. Income tax for lower incomes was abolished in 1905, secondary schools established in every city (1906), telephone network nationalized, unemployment benefits were introduced (1914), eight-hour working day introduced (1915), etc.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":0" /> By 1929, 84% of manufacturing was concentrated in a handful of industries: meatpacking, leather and wool.<ref name=":0" /> Industrial policies further encouraging migration from rural to urban communities, as well as waves of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe.<ref name=":0" /> Investment in urban infrastructure in Montevideo and a growing economy, was capped by hosting the first 1930 FIFA World Cup.<ref name=":0" />

Claudio Williman who served between Batlle's two terms was his supporter and continued all his reforms, as did the next President Baltasar Brum (1919–1923). Around 1900 infant mortality rates (IMR) in Uruguay were among the world's lowest, indicating a very healthy population.

Uruguay was hit hard by the Great Depression, ending an era of export-led economic growth.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Mid-20th century

The Uruguay economy shifted from an agriculture-dominated economy to an industrial economy from the period 1930 to 1955.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> This shift led to a sluggish economy, as Uruguay neglected its comparative advantage, diverting resources away from a productive agricultural sector to an inefficient, unproductive manufacturing sector.<ref name=":2" /> The government sought to bolster its manufacturing sector with import substitution industrialization, disincentivizing imports.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> From the 1950s onwards, the Uruguay economy was in decline.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":2" />

Anthropology professor Daniel Renfrew describes both the 50s and 60s and dictatorship period (70s and 80s) as economic downturn periods, followed by further economic degradation caused by neoliberalism.<ref name=":0" /> Economist Jamie Mezzera disagrees with this interpretation, arguing that between 1968 and 1972, Uruguay was one of the most regulated capitalist economies in the world. In this period, the government massively increased import tariffs and had near-total wage and price controls. The government instituted these policies to avoid the political pressure that would come if they were to devalue their currency.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Between 1955 and 1972, economic output in Uruguay stagnated. After the price and wage controls were largely removed in 1973, growth increased by 4.3% per year until 1979.

The policies of the Colorado Party under Julio María Sanguinetti and Jorge Batlle during the 90s and early 2000s, following global trends of neo-liberalization, facilitated a shift from manufacturing and small-scale agriculture, towards increasing monoculture agriculture and services like finance and tourism.<ref name=":0" /> However, these policies faded as the regional economic problems in Argentina and Brazil caused a downturn and unemployment from 1998 to 2003.<ref name=":0" /> The economic and social crises that followed allowed for the election of the Broad Front a leftist coalition against the neoliberal policies.<ref name=":0" />

Currency

Uruguay has a partially dollarized economy. Template:As of almost 60% of bank loans use United States dollars,<ref name="imf20080828">Template:Cite news</ref> but most transactions use the Uruguayan peso.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Today, the Uruguayan peso is minted in coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 50 pesos and in banknotes of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 pesos.

Sectors

Agriculture, textiles and leather

Template:Main Throughout Uruguay's history, their strongest exporting industries have been beef and wool. In the case of beef exports, they have been boosted since Uruguay joined the Mercosur agreement in 1991 and the country has been able trade with more distant markets, such as Japan. In 2018, it produced 589 thousand tons of beef.<ref>Uruguay production in 2018, by FAO</ref> In the case of wool exports, they have not been doing so well in recent years suffering from other competitors in the market like New Zealand and the fluctuations of its demand during the 2008 recession in the developed world.

As timber refining is being kept within the country, forestry has become a growth industry in recent years. In 2018, the country produced 1.36 million tons of rice, 1.33 million tons of soy, 816 thousand tons of maize, 637 thousand tons of barley, 440 thousand tons of wheat, 350 thousand tons of sugar cane, 106 thousand tons of orange, 104 thousand tons of grape, 90 thousand tons of rapeseed, 87 thousand tons of potato, 76 thousand tons of sorghum, 71 thousand tons of tangerine, 52 thousand tons of oats, 48 thousand tons of apple, in addition to smaller yields of other agricultural products.<ref>Uruguay production in 2018, by FAO</ref>

Liebig Extract of Meat Company ran a very large and influential beef extract factory in Fray Bentos for 100 years.

Software

During the last decades the software industry has developed considerably. Many start-ups have been very successful, such is the case of PedidosYa and DLocal. Uruguay also exports software; the similar geographic longitude to that of the United States makes it attractive for companies to outsource software development to Uruguayan companies. Other notable Uruguayan software enterprises are: Genexus, Códigos del Sur, Overactive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mining

Template:Main Although this is a sector that does not make substantial contributions to the country's economy, in recent years there has been some activity in gold and cement production, and also in the extraction of granite.

Artigas Department is well known for its amethyst and agate quartz varieties mining. During 2010s 20 thousand tons of minerals were extracted with a value of 9 million of US dollars, exported to Germany, United States, Brazil and China.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Plastics

In 2011, plastics were the second-largest non-agricultural industrial export of the country.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Telecommunications

Despite having poor levels of investment in the fixed-line sector, the small size of Uruguay's population has enabled them to attain one of the highest telecommunication density levels in South America and reach a 100% digitalization of main lines. Although the telecommunications sector has been under a state monopoly for some years, provisions have been made to introduce liberalization and to allow for the entry of more firms into the cellular sector.Template:Citation needed

Travel and tourism

Template:Main In 2013, travel and tourism accounted for 9.4% of the country's GDP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their tourist industry is mainly characterized for attracting visitors from neighboring countries. Currently Uruguay's major attraction is the interior, particularly located in the region around Punta del Este.<ref>"Country Reports: Uruguay." Uruguay Country Monitor (2014): 16. Business Source Premier. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.</ref>

Specialties

• Cattle were introduced to Uruguay before its independence by Hernando Arias de Saavedra, the Spanish Governor of Buenos Aires in 1603. Beef exports in 2006 amounted to around 37% of Uruguayan exports.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Wool is a traditional product exported mainly to America, followed by the UK and India.<ref name="autogenerated3">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Milk and dairy products. Conaprole, National Cooperative of Milk Producers<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite web</ref> is the main exporter of dairy products in Latin America (in 2006). The area of the country dedicated to dairy food is located mainly in the southwest.
• Rice. Fine varieties are produced in the lowlands in the east of the country close to Merin lake on the Uruguay-Brazil border. The national company Saman claims to be the main exporter in Latin America.<ref name="autogenerated2">Template:Cite web</ref> Countries it exports to include Brazil, Iran, Peru, South Africa, Chile, Senegal, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, USA, Canada and China.
• Tourism: Several seaside resorts, like Punta del Este or Punta del Diablo in the south-eastern departments of Maldonado and Rocha, regarded as a jet-set resort in South America, are main attractions of Uruguay. International cruises call at Montevideo from October to March every year. Also, Uruguay hosts many year-round international conferences. (The original GATT Uruguay Round concerning trade was, as its name suggests, hosted in Uruguay). Montevideo is home to the headquarters (secretariat) of [Mercosur], the Common Market of the South, whose full members are Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela, associate members Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
• Software and consulting. Uruguay's well-educated workforce and lower-than-international wages have put Uruguay on the IT map. A product named GeneXus,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> originally created in Uruguay by a company called ArTech, is noteworthy. Other important developers and consultants include De Larrobla & Asociados,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Greycon and Quanam.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tata Consultancy Services has its headquarters for the Spanish speaking world in Uruguay. Many of these companies have established in [1].

"With a population of only three million, Uruguay has rapidly become Latin America's outsourcing hub. In partnership with one of India's largest technology consulting firms, engineers in Montevideo work while their counterparts in Mumbai sleep." - The New York Times, Sep 22, 2006.

• Banking Services. Banking has traditionally been one of the strongest service export sectors in the country. Uruguay was once dubbed "the Switzerland of America", mainly for its banking sector and stability. The largest bank in Uruguay is Banco República, or BROU, which is state-owned; another important state bank is the BHU. Almost 20 private banks, most of the branches of international banks, operate in the country (Banco Santander, ABN AMRO, Citibank, among others). There is also a myriad of brokers and financial-services bureaus, among them Ficus Capital, Galvin Sociedad de Bolsa, Europa Sociedad de Bolsa, Darío Cukier, GBU, Hordeñana & Asociados Sociedad de Bolsa, etc. Uruguay has fully recovered from the financial crisis that caused a run on its banks.Template:Citation needed
• Public Sector: The state in Uruguay has an important role in the economy, Uruguay resisted the trend of privatization in Utilities and state-owned enterprises in the region. Several Referendums supported the state being in control of the most important utilities and energy companies. Some of the companies have a full monopoly warranted by law (like landline telephony, water), others compete freely with private operators (Insurance, mobile telephony, Banks). Most of them are dominant in the local market. There is strong debate in the Uruguayan society about their role and future. Some of them contributed to the Uruguay state treasury.Template:Citation needed
  • The most important state-owned companies are: Republica AFAP (Pension Fund), AFE (Railways), ANCAP (Energy), ANCO (Mail), Administracion Nacional de Puertos (Ports), ANTEL (Telecommunications: Telephony, Mobiles (ANCEL and Data ANTELDATA)), BHU (Mortgage Bank), BROU (Bank), BSE (Insurance), OSE (Water & Sewage), UTE (Electricity). These companies operate under public law, using a legal entity defined in the Uruguayan Constitution called 'Ente Autonomo' (Meaning Autonomic Entity). The government also owns parts of other companies operating under private law like the National Airline Carrier PLUNA and others owned totally or partially by the CND National Development Corporation.Template:Citation needed

Trade agreements

Currently in force (Free Trade Agreements / Economic Complementation Agreements)

Mercosur (signed and effective November 1991)

ECA N.º 36 MERCOSUR with Template:Flag (signed December 1996 and effective February 1997)

FTA with Template:Flag (signed November 2003 and effective July 2004)

ECAa N.º 59 with Template:Flag (signed October 2004 and effective April 2005)

ECA N.º 58 MERCOSUR with Template:Flag (signed August 2005 and effective December 2005)

ECA N.º 62 MERCOSUR with Template:Flag (signed July 2006 and effective September 2008)

Comercial Preference Agreement MERCOSUR with Template:Flag (signed January 2004 and effective June 2009)

FTA MERCOSUR with Template:Flag (signed December de 2007 and effective December 2009)

Partial Agreement N.º 63 with Template:Flag (signed December 2012 and effective March 2013)

Comercial Preference Agreement MERCOSUR with SACU (signed September 2011 and effective April 2016)

FTA MERCOSUR with Template:Flag (signed December 2015 and effective September 2017)

ECA N.º 72 MERCOSUR with Template:Flag (signed July 2017 and effective December 2017)

FTA with Template:Flag signed October 2016 and effective December 2018)

Concluded (not in force)

FTA MERCOSUR with Template:Flag (signed December 2011)

Data

The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2021 (with IMF staff estimates in 2022–2027). Inflation below 10% is in green.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Year	GDP (in Bil. US$PPP)	GDP per capita (in US$ PPP)	GDP (in Bil. US$nominal)	GDP per capita (in US$ nominal)	GDP growth (real)	Inflation rate (in Percent)	Unemployment (in Percent)	Government debt (in % of GDP)
1980	14.8	5,050.0	12.2	4,139.9	Template:Increase6.0%	Template:IncreaseNegative63.5%	n/a	n/a
1981	Template:Increase16.6	Template:Increase5,594.3	Template:Increase13.6	Template:Increase4,589.0	Template:Increase1.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative34.0%	n/a	n/a
1982	Template:Decrease15.9	Template:Decrease5,347.4	Template:Decrease11.1	Template:Decrease3,727.4	Template:Decrease-9.4%	Template:IncreaseNegative19.0%	n/a	n/a
1983	Template:Decrease15.6	Template:Decrease5,198.1	Template:Decrease6.1	Template:Decrease2,033.0	Template:Decrease-5.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative49.2%	14.5%	n/a
1984	Template:Increase15.9	Template:Increase5,273.5	Template:Decrease5.8	Template:Decrease1,920.9	Template:Decrease-1.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative55.3%	Template:DecreasePositive14.0%	n/a
1985	Template:Increase16.5	Template:Increase5,422.0	Template:Decrease5.7	Template:Decrease1,865.1	Template:Increase0.3%	Template:IncreaseNegative72.2%	Template:DecreasePositive13.1%	n/a
1986	Template:Increase18.0	Template:Increase5,912.7	Template:Increase7.0	Template:Increase2,302.5	Template:Increase7.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative76.4%	Template:DecreasePositive10.1%	n/a
1987	Template:Increase19.6	Template:Increase6,381.1	Template:Increase8.8	Template:Increase2,864.7	Template:Increase5.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative63.6%	Template:DecreasePositive9.1%	n/a
1988	Template:Increase20.4	Template:Increase6,599.9	Template:Increase9.1	Template:Increase2,946.4	Template:Increase0.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative62.2%	Template:DecreasePositive8.6%	n/a
1989	Template:Increase21.4	Template:Increase6,896.1	Template:Increase9.6	Template:Increase3,088.0	Template:Increase1.1%	Template:IncreaseNegative80.4%	Template:DecreasePositive8.0%	n/a
1990	Template:Increase22.3	Template:Increase7,136.0	Template:Increase11.2	Template:Increase3,573.1	Template:Increase0.3%	Template:IncreaseNegative112.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative8.5%	n/a
1991	Template:Increase23.8	Template:Increase7,594.2	Template:Increase13.4	Template:Increase4,281.1	Template:Increase3.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative102.0%	Template:IncreaseNegative8.9%	n/a
1992	Template:Increase26.3	Template:Increase8,333.4	Template:Increase15.5	Template:Increase4,890.2	Template:Increase7.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative68.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative9.0%	n/a
1993	Template:Increase27.7	Template:Increase8,705.4	Template:Increase18.0	Template:Increase5,659.5	Template:Increase2.7%	Template:IncreaseNegative54.1%	Template:DecreasePositive8.3%	n/a
1994	Template:Increase30.3	Template:Increase9,449.3	Template:Increase21.0	Template:Increase6,530.0	Template:Increase7.3%	Template:IncreaseNegative44.7%	Template:IncreaseNegative9.2%	n/a
1995	Template:Increase30.5	Template:Decrease9,448.7	Template:Increase23.2	Template:Increase7,176.4	Template:Decrease-1.4%	Template:IncreaseNegative42.2%	Template:IncreaseNegative10.3%	n/a
1996	Template:Increase32.8	Template:Increase10,095.7	Template:Increase24.6	Template:Increase7,580.6	Template:Increase5.6%	Template:IncreaseNegative28.3%	Template:IncreaseNegative11.9%	n/a
1997	Template:Increase35.0	Template:Increase10,665.0	Template:Increase26.0	Template:Increase7,925.9	Template:Increase5.0%	Template:IncreaseNegative19.8%	Template:DecreasePositive11.6%	n/a
1998	Template:Increase37.0	Template:Increase11,183.4	Template:Increase27.6	Template:Increase8,329.1	Template:Increase4.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative10.8%	Template:DecreasePositive10.1%	n/a
1999	Template:Decrease36.8	Template:Decrease11,042.6	Template:Decrease26.1	Template:Decrease7,814.5	Template:Decrease-1.9%	Template:Increase5.7%	Template:IncreaseNegative11.2%	n/a
2000	Template:Increase36.9	Template:Decrease11,030.1	Template:Decrease24.8	Template:Decrease7,406.0	Template:Decrease-1.9%	Template:Increase4.8%	Template:IncreaseNegative13.4%	n/a
2001	Template:Decrease36.3	Template:Decrease10,837.5	Template:Decrease22.7	Template:Decrease6,776.8	Template:Decrease-3.8%	Template:Increase4.4%	Template:IncreaseNegative15.2%	n/a
2002	Template:Decrease34.0	Template:Decrease10,170.0	Template:Decrease14.8	Template:Decrease4,425.1	Template:Decrease-7.7%	Template:IncreaseNegative14.0%	Template:IncreaseNegative16.8%	n/a
2003	Template:Increase35.0	Template:Increase10,480.1	Template:Decrease13.1	Template:Decrease3,926.7	Template:Increase0.8%	Template:IncreaseNegative19.4%	Template:IncreaseNegative17.2%	n/a
2004	Template:Increase37.7	Template:Increase11,289.8	Template:Increase14.9	Template:Increase4,456.8	Template:Increase5.0%	Template:Increase9.2%	Template:DecreasePositive13.3%	n/a
2005	Template:Increase41.8	Template:Increase12,471.6	Template:Increase18.9	Template:Increase5,638.0	Template:Increase7.5%	Template:Increase4.7%	Template:DecreasePositive12.1%	n/a
2006	Template:Increase44.9	Template:Increase13,360.9	Template:Increase21.3	Template:Increase6,347.3	Template:Increase4.1%	Template:Increase6.4%	Template:DecreasePositive10.8%	n/a
2007	Template:Increase49.1	Template:Increase14,616.2	Template:Increase25.5	Template:Increase7,587.9	Template:Increase6.5%	Template:Increase8.1%	Template:DecreasePositive9.4%	n/a
2008	Template:Increase53.6	Template:Increase15,945.2	Template:Increase33.0	Template:Increase9,808.9	Template:Increase7.2%	Template:Increase7.9%	Template:DecreasePositive7.9%	46.4%
2009	Template:Increase56.3	Template:Increase16,653.9	Template:Increase34.4	Template:Increase10,181.7	Template:Increase4.2%	Template:Increase7.1%	Template:DecreasePositive7.8%	Template:DecreasePositive46.4%
2010	Template:Increase61.4	Template:Increase18,069.7	Template:Increase43.8	Template:Increase12,899.7	Template:Increase7.8%	Template:Increase6.7%	Template:DecreasePositive7.0%	Template:DecreasePositive40.8%
2011	Template:Increase65.9	Template:Increase19,306.8	Template:Increase52.3	Template:Increase15,331.1	Template:Increase5.2%	Template:Increase8.1%	Template:DecreasePositive6.3%	Template:IncreaseNegative41.6%
2012	Template:Increase66.8	Template:Increase19,489.1	Template:Increase55.6	Template:Increase16,213.8	Template:Increase3.5%	Template:Increase8.1%	Template:Steady6.3%	Template:IncreaseNegative49.8%
2013	Template:Increase70.4	Template:Increase20,475.3	Template:Increase62.1	Template:Increase18,049.7	Template:Increase4.6%	Template:Increase8.6%	Template:IncreaseNegative6.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative50.1%
2014	Template:Increase74.2	Template:Increase21,491.9	Template:Decrease61.9	Template:Decrease17,908.8	Template:Increase3.2%	Template:Increase8.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative6.6%	Template:IncreaseNegative50.8%
2015	Template:Increase74.9	Template:Increase21,614.5	Template:Decrease57.4	Template:Decrease16,565.8	Template:Increase0.4%	Template:Increase8.7%	Template:IncreaseNegative7.5%	Template:IncreaseNegative57.8%
2016	Template:Increase76.9	Template:Increase22,092.5	Template:Decrease57.2	Template:Decrease16,448.8	Template:Increase1.7%	Template:Increase9.6%	Template:IncreaseNegative7.9%	Template:DecreasePositive55.8%
2017	Template:Increase79.1	Template:Increase22,637.3	Template:Increase64.4	Template:Increase18,431.4	Template:Increase1.6%	Template:Increase6.2%	Template:Steady7.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative56.7%
2018	Template:Increase81.4	Template:Increase23,204.0	Template:Decrease64.3	Template:Decrease18,338.8	Template:Increase0.5%	Template:Increase7.6%	Template:IncreaseNegative8.4%	Template:IncreaseNegative58.3%
2019	Template:Increase83.1	Template:Increase23,617.2	Template:Decrease61.0	Template:Decrease17,341.4	Template:Increase0.4%	Template:Increase7.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative8.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative61.0%
2020	Template:Decrease79.0	Template:Decrease22,361.7	Template:Decrease53.7	Template:Decrease15,208.0	Template:Decrease-6.1%	Template:Increase9.8%	Template:IncreaseNegative10.4%	Template:IncreaseNegative68.3%
2021	Template:Increase85.9	Template:Increase24,233.1	Template:Increase59.3	Template:Increase16,735.3	Template:Increase4.4%	Template:Increase7.7%	Template:DecreasePositive9.4%	Template:DecreasePositive65.1%
2022	Template:Increase96.8	Template:Increase27,232.8	Template:Increase71.2	Template:Increase20,017.6	Template:Increase5.3%	Template:Increase9.1%	Template:DecreasePositive7.9%	Template:DecreasePositive61.2%
2023	Template:Increase103.8	Template:Increase29,109.3	Template:Increase73.0	Template:Increase20,463.9	Template:Increase3.6%	Template:Increase7.8%	Template:Steady7.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative62.6%
2024	Template:Increase108.9	Template:Increase30,425.7	Template:Increase74.8	Template:Increase20,919.5	Template:Increase2.7%	Template:Increase6.4%	Template:Steady7.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative63.9%
2025	Template:Increase113.7	Template:Increase31,668.3	Template:Increase77.6	Template:Increase21,620.1	Template:Increase2.5%	Template:Increase5.8%	Template:Steady7.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative64.1%
2026	Template:Increase118.4	Template:Increase32,882.5	Template:Increase79.6	Template:Increase22,122.0	Template:Increase2.2%	Template:Increase4.5%	Template:Steady7.9%	Template:IncreaseNegative64.9%
2027	Template:Increase123.3	Template:Increase34,153.7	Template:Increase82.0	Template:Increase22,710.1	Template:Increase2.2%	Template:Increase4.5%	Template:Steady7.9%	Template:DecreasePositive64.7%

• Industrial production growth rate: 12.6% (2006 est.)
• Electricity - production: 9,474 GWh (1998)
  • fossil fuel: 3.91%
  • hydro: 95.62%
  • nuclear: 0%
  • other: 0.47% (1998)
• Electricity - consumption: 6,526 GWh (1998)
• Electricity - exports: 2,363 GWh (1998)
• Electricity - imports: 78 GWh (1998)
• Agriculture - products: wheat, rice, barley, maize, sorghum; livestock; fish
• Exchange rates: Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 24.048 (2006), 24.479 (2005), 28.704 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 21.257 (2002)

Uruguay in the world

The following table shows the economic rankings of Uruguay compared to the world:

Index	Source	Rank	Published
Quality of Life Index	Numbeo<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	42°	2024
Human Development Index	UNDP<ref name=uyhdi>Template:Cite web</ref>	52°	2022
Democracy Index	Economist Intelligence Unit<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	11°	2022
Global Peace Index	Vision of Humanity<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	46°	2020-2022
Prosperity Index	Legatum<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	37°	2021
Corruption Perceptions Index	Transparency<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	14°	2023
Economic Freedom Index	Heritage<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	34°	2022
Global Competitiveness Report	World Economic Forum<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	54°	2019
Cost of Living Index	Expatistan<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	30°	2023
Debt Rating<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Moodys	BAA2	2021
	S&P	BBB	2017
	Fitch	BBB-	2020
Developed Country Recognition	World Bank	High Income	2023
	United Nations	Very High HDI	2021 (2022 report)
Index of Geopolitical Gains and Losses after Energy Transition (GeGaLo Index)	Overland et al.<ref name="doi.org">Template:Cite journal</ref>	6 out of 156	2019

See also

• Petroleum in Uruguay
• Taxation in Uruguay
• Economy of South America
• List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP growth
• List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (nominal)
• List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (PPP)
• IMF-Uruguayan Relationship

References

12. Template:Cite web

External links

• World Bank Summary Trade Statistics Uruguay