| Economy - overview | Uruguay has a free market economy characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, and high levels of social spending. Uruguay has sought to expand trade within the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and with non-Mercosur members, and President VAZQUEZ has maintained his predecessor's mix of pro-market policies and a strong social safety net. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $74.638 billion (2019 est.) $74.473 billion (2018 est.) $73.285 billion (2017 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $56.108 billion (2019 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.7% (2017 est.) 1.7% (2016 est.) 0.4% (2015 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $21,561 (2019 est.) $21,591 (2018 est.) $21,325 (2017 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| Gross national saving | 13% of GDP (2019 est.) 12% of GDP (2018 est.) 12.6% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 66.8% (2017 est.) government consumption: 14.3% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 16.7% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: -1% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 21.6% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -18.4% (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.2% (2017 est.) industry: 24.1% (2017 est.) services: 69.7% (2017 est.) |
| Ease of Doing Business Index scores | Overall score: 61.5 (2020) Starting a Business score: 89.6 (2020) Trading score: 58.4 (2020) Enforcement score: 56.3 (2020) |
| Population below poverty line | 8.8% (2019 est.) |
| Labor force | 1.748 million (2017 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 13% industry: 14% services: 73% (2010 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2017 est.) 7.9% (2016 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 28.7% male: 24.8% female: 33.9% (2019 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.9% highest 10%: 30.8% (2014 est.) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 39.7 (2018 est.) 41.9 (2013) |
| Budget | revenues: 17.66 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 19.72 billion (2017 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 29.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Public debt | 65.7% of GDP (2017 est.) 61.6% of GDP (2016 est.) note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions. |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.8% (2019 est.) 7.5% (2018 est.) 6.2% (2017 est.) |
| Credit ratings | Fitch rating: BBB- (2013) Moody's rating: Baa2 (2014) Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2015) |
| Agriculture - products | soybeans, milk, rice, maize, wheat, barley, beef, sugar cane, sorghum, oranges |
| Industries | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages |
| Industrial production growth rate | -3.6% (2017 est.) |
| Current Account Balance | $879 million (2017 est.) $410 million (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $11.41 billion (2017 est.) $8.387 billion (2016 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | sulfate wood pulp, beef, soybeans, concentrated milk, rice (2019) |
| Exports - partners | China 29%, Brazil 12%, United States 5%, Netherlands 5%, Argentina 5% (2019) |
| Imports | $8.607 billion (2017 est.) $8.463 billion (2016 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, packaged medicines, cars, broadcasting equipment, delivery trucks (2019) |
| Imports - partners | Brazil 25%, China 15%, United States 11%, Argentina 11% (2019) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $15.96 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $13.47 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Debt - external | $43.705 billion (2019 est.) $42.861 billion (2018 est.) |
| Exchange rates | Uruguayan pesos (UYU) per US dollar - 42.645 (2020 est.) 37.735 (2019 est.) 32.2 (2018 est.) 27.52 (2014 est.) 23.25 (2013 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
