Economy of Uruguay

Economy of Uruguay
World Trade Center Montevideo
CurrencyUruguayan peso (UYU, $U)
Calendar year
Trade organizations
WTO, ALADI, Mercosur, Andean Community (associate)
Country group
Statistics
PopulationNeutral increase 3,496,016 (2022)
GDP
  • Increase $77.3 billion (nominal, 2023)
  • Increase $102 billion (PPP, 2023)
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • Increase 4.9% (2022)
  • Increase 2.0% (2023f)
  • Increase 2.9% (2024f)
GDP per capita
  • Increase $21,677 (nominal, 2023)
  • Increase $28,740 (PPP, 2023)
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
9.12% (February 2021)
Population below poverty line
Negative increase 11.6% (2020)
Negative increase 39.7 medium (2018, World Bank)
Labor force
  • Decrease 1,686,487 (2020)
  • Decrease 54.9% employment rate (February 2021)
Labor force by occupation
UnemploymentNegative increase 11.1% (February 2021)
Main industries
food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages
External
ExportsIncrease $11.41 billion (2017 est.)
Export goods
beef, soybeans, cellulose, rice, wheat, wood, dairy products, wool
Main export partners
ImportsIncrease $8.607 billion (2017 est.)
Import goods
refined oil, crude oil, passenger and other transportation vehicles, vehicle parts, cellular phones
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Increase $44.84 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
  • Increase Abroad: $19.97 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
Increase $879 million (2017 est.)
Negative increase $28.37 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
Public finances
Negative increase 65.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
−3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Revenues17.66 billion (2017 est.)
Expenses19.72 billion (2017 est.)
Increase $15.96 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.
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.

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.

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.

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. By 1929, 84% of manufacturing was concentrated in a handful of industries: meatpacking, leather and wool. Industrial policies further encouraging migration from rural to urban communities, as well as waves of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. Investment in urban infrastructure in Montevideo and a growing economy, was capped by hosting the first 1930 FIFA World Cup.

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.

Mid-20th century

The economy of Uruguay started in the early 20th century (1920s-1950s) with government policy focused on import substitution industrialization, where the government encouraged and protected national manufacturers to reduce dependency on imports. Generally, manufacturing prospered during this period with growth of 8.4% a year from 1945 to 1954.

By 1956 the middle class was approximately 40% of the population, with urban services and culture, like mass media and cinema, flourishing. However, the policy of import substitution industrialization began to collapse in the 1950s, leading to economic and social unrest. Many economic histories describe both the 50s and 60s and dictatorship period (70s and 80s) as economic downturn periods, followed by further economic degradation caused by neoliberalism.

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. However, these policies faded as the regional economic problems in Argentina and Brazil caused a downturn and unemployment from 1998 to 2003. The economic and social crises that followed allowed for the election of the Broad Front a leftist coalition against the neoliberal policies.

Contemporary trends

The number of trade unionists has quadrupled since 2003, from 110,000 to more than 400,000 in 2015 for a working population of 1.5 million people. According to the International Trade Union Confederation, Uruguay has become the most advanced country in the Americas in terms of respect for "fundamental labor rights, in particular, freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike".[citation needed]

Currency

Uruguay has a partially dollarized economy. As of August 2008 almost 60% of bank loans use United States dollars, but most transactions use the Uruguayan peso. 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

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. 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.

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

Energy

Wind turbines in Tacuarembó Department
Energy in Uruguay describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Uruguay.

As part of climate mitigation measures and an energy transformation, Uruguay has converted over 98% of its electrical grid to sustainable energy sources (primarily solar, wind, and hydro).

Fossil fuels are primarily imported into Uruguay for transportation, industrial uses and applications like domestic cooking.

Software

During the last decades the software industry has developed considerably. Many start-ups have been very successful, such is the case of PedidosYa. 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.

Mining

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.

Plastics

Due to two major investments made in 1991 and 1997, the most significant manufactured exports in Uruguay are plastics. These investments laid the way for most of the substantial exports of plastic-based products which have taken a very important role in Uruguay's economy.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

Travel and tourism

In 2013, travel and tourism accounted for 9.4% of the country's GDP. 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.

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.
  • Wool is a traditional product exported mainly to America, followed by the UK and India.
  • Milk and dairy products. Conaprole, National Cooperative of Milk Producers 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. 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, originally created in Uruguay by a company called ArTech, is noteworthy. Other important developers and consultants include De Larrobla & Asociados, Greycon and Quanam. 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.[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.[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.[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  Bolivia (signed December 1996 and effective February 1997)
FTA with  Mexico (signed November 2003 and effective July 2004)
ECAa N.º 59 with  Ecuador (signed October 2004 and effective April 2005)
ECA N.º 58 MERCOSUR with  Peru (signed August 2005 and effective December 2005)
ECA N.º 62 MERCOSUR with  Cuba (signed July 2006 and effective September 2008)
Comercial Preference Agreement MERCOSUR with  India (signed January 2004 and effective June 2009)
FTA MERCOSUR with  Israel (signed December de 2007 and effective December 2009)
Partial Agreement N.º 63 with  Venezuela (signed December 2012 and effective March 2013)
Comercial Preference Agreement MERCOSUR with SACU (signed September 2011 and effective April 2016)
FTA MERCOSUR with  Egypt (signed December 2015 and effective September 2017)
ECA N.º 72 MERCOSUR with  Colombia (signed July 2017 and effective December 2017)
FTA with  Chile signed October 2016 and effective December 2018)
Concluded (not in force)
FTA MERCOSUR with  State of Palestine (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.

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 Increase6.0% Negative increase63.5% n/a n/a
1981 Increase16.6 Increase5,594.3 Increase13.6 Increase4,589.0 Increase1.9% Negative increase34.0% n/a n/a
1982 Decrease15.9 Decrease5,347.4 Decrease11.1 Decrease3,727.4 Decrease-9.4% Negative increase19.0% n/a n/a
1983 Decrease15.6 Decrease5,198.1 Decrease6.1 Decrease2,033.0 Decrease-5.9% Negative increase49.2% 14.5% n/a
1984 Increase15.9 Increase5,273.5 Decrease5.8 Decrease1,920.9 Decrease-1.5% Negative increase55.3% Positive decrease14.0% n/a
1985 Increase16.5 Increase5,422.0 Decrease5.7 Decrease1,865.1 Increase0.3% Negative increase72.2% Positive decrease13.1% n/a
1986 Increase18.0 Increase5,912.7 Increase7.0 Increase2,302.5 Increase7.5% Negative increase76.4% Positive decrease10.1% n/a
1987 Increase19.6 Increase6,381.1 Increase8.8 Increase2,864.7 Increase5.9% Negative increase63.6% Positive decrease9.1% n/a
1988 Increase20.4 Increase6,599.9 Increase9.1 Increase2,946.4 Increase0.5% Negative increase62.2% Positive decrease8.6% n/a
1989 Increase21.4 Increase6,896.1 Increase9.6 Increase3,088.0 Increase1.1% Negative increase80.4% Positive decrease8.0% n/a
1990 Increase22.3 Increase7,136.0 Increase11.2 Increase3,573.1 Increase0.3% Negative increase112.5% Negative increase8.5% n/a
1991 Increase23.8 Increase7,594.2 Increase13.4 Increase4,281.1 Increase3.5% Negative increase102.0% Negative increase8.9% n/a
1992 Increase26.3 Increase8,333.4 Increase15.5 Increase4,890.2 Increase7.9% Negative increase68.5% Negative increase9.0% n/a
1993 Increase27.7 Increase8,705.4 Increase18.0 Increase5,659.5 Increase2.7% Negative increase54.1% Positive decrease8.3% n/a
1994 Increase30.3 Increase9,449.3 Increase21.0 Increase6,530.0 Increase7.3% Negative increase44.7% Negative increase9.2% n/a
1995 Increase30.5 Decrease9,448.7 Increase23.2 Increase7,176.4 Decrease-1.4% Negative increase42.2% Negative increase10.3% n/a
1996 Increase32.8 Increase10,095.7 Increase24.6 Increase7,580.6 Increase5.6% Negative increase28.3% Negative increase11.9% n/a
1997 Increase35.0 Increase10,665.0 Increase26.0 Increase7,925.9 Increase5.0% Negative increase19.8% Positive decrease11.6% n/a
1998 Increase37.0 Increase11,183.4 Increase27.6 Increase8,329.1 Increase4.5% Negative increase10.8% Positive decrease10.1% n/a
1999 Decrease36.8 Decrease11,042.6 Decrease26.1 Decrease7,814.5 Decrease-1.9% Increase5.7% Negative increase11.2% n/a
2000 Increase36.9 Decrease11,030.1 Decrease24.8 Decrease7,406.0 Decrease-1.9% Increase4.8% Negative increase13.4% n/a
2001 Decrease36.3 Decrease10,837.5 Decrease22.7 Decrease6,776.8 Decrease-3.8% Increase4.4% Negative increase15.2% n/a
2002 Decrease34.0 Decrease10,170.0 Decrease14.8 Decrease4,425.1 Decrease-7.7% Negative increase14.0% Negative increase16.8% n/a
2003 Increase35.0 Increase10,480.1 Decrease13.1 Decrease3,926.7 Increase0.8% Negative increase19.4% Negative increase17.2% n/a
2004 Increase37.7 Increase11,289.8 Increase14.9 Increase4,456.8 Increase5.0% Increase9.2% Positive decrease13.3% n/a
2005 Increase41.8 Increase12,471.6 Increase18.9 Increase5,638.0 Increase7.5% Increase4.7% Positive decrease12.1% n/a
2006 Increase44.9 Increase13,360.9 Increase21.3 Increase6,347.3 Increase4.1% Increase6.4% Positive decrease10.8% n/a
2007 Increase49.1 Increase14,616.2 Increase25.5 Increase7,587.9 Increase6.5% Increase8.1% Positive decrease9.4% n/a
2008 Increase53.6 Increase15,945.2 Increase33.0 Increase9,808.9 Increase7.2% Increase7.9% Positive decrease7.9% 46.4%
2009 Increase56.3 Increase16,653.9 Increase34.4 Increase10,181.7 Increase4.2% Increase7.1% Positive decrease7.8% Positive decrease46.4%
2010 Increase61.4 Increase18,069.7 Increase43.8 Increase12,899.7 Increase7.8% Increase6.7% Positive decrease7.0% Positive decrease40.8%
2011 Increase65.9 Increase19,306.8 Increase52.3 Increase15,331.1 Increase5.2% Increase8.1% Positive decrease6.3% Negative increase41.6%
2012 Increase66.8 Increase19,489.1 Increase55.6 Increase16,213.8 Increase3.5% Increase8.1% Steady6.3% Negative increase49.8%
2013 Increase70.4 Increase20,475.3 Increase62.1 Increase18,049.7 Increase4.6% Increase8.6% Negative increase6.5% Negative increase50.1%
2014 Increase74.2 Increase21,491.9 Decrease61.9 Decrease17,908.8 Increase3.2% Increase8.9% Negative increase6.6% Negative increase50.8%
2015 Increase74.9 Increase21,614.5 Decrease57.4 Decrease16,565.8 Increase0.4% Increase8.7% Negative increase7.5% Negative increase57.8%
2016 Increase76.9 Increase22,092.5 Decrease57.2 Decrease16,448.8 Increase1.7% Increase9.6% Negative increase7.9% Positive decrease55.8%
2017 Increase79.1 Increase22,637.3 Increase64.4 Increase18,431.4 Increase1.6% Increase6.2% Steady7.9% Negative increase56.7%
2018 Increase81.4 Increase23,204.0 Decrease64.3 Decrease18,338.8 Increase0.5% Increase7.6% Negative increase8.4% Negative increase58.3%
2019 Increase83.1 Increase23,617.2 Decrease61.0 Decrease17,341.4 Increase0.4% Increase7.9% Negative increase8.9% Negative increase61.0%
2020 Decrease79.0 Decrease22,361.7 Decrease53.7 Decrease15,208.0 Decrease-6.1% Increase9.8% Negative increase10.4% Negative increase68.3%
2021 Increase85.9 Increase24,233.1 Increase59.3 Increase16,735.3 Increase4.4% Increase7.7% Positive decrease9.4% Positive decrease65.1%
2022 Increase96.8 Increase27,232.8 Increase71.2 Increase20,017.6 Increase5.3% Increase9.1% Positive decrease7.9% Positive decrease61.2%
2023 Increase103.8 Increase29,109.3 Increase73.0 Increase20,463.9 Increase3.6% Increase7.8% Steady7.9% Negative increase62.6%
2024 Increase108.9 Increase30,425.7 Increase74.8 Increase20,919.5 Increase2.7% Increase6.4% Steady7.9% Negative increase63.9%
2025 Increase113.7 Increase31,668.3 Increase77.6 Increase21,620.1 Increase2.5% Increase5.8% Steady7.9% Negative increase64.1%
2026 Increase118.4 Increase32,882.5 Increase79.6 Increase22,122.0 Increase2.2% Increase4.5% Steady7.9% Negative increase64.9%
2027 Increase123.3 Increase34,153.7 Increase82.0 Increase22,710.1 Increase2.2% Increase4.5% Steady7.9% Positive decrease64.7%
  • 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 44° 2023
Human Development Index UNDP 58° 2023
Democracy Index Economist Intelligence Unit 11° 2022
Global Peace Index Vision of Humanity 46° 2020-2022
Prosperity Index Legatum 37° 2021
Corruption Perceptions Index Transparency 14° 2023
Economic Freedom Index Heritage 34° 2022
Global Competitiveness Report World Economic Forum 54° 2019
Cost of Living Index Expatistan 30° 2023
Debt Rating 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. 6 out of 156 2019

See also


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