Demographics of Uruguay

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Uruguay, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

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Origins and Ethnicity

Uruguay is a multiethnical society, which means that it is home to people of many different ethnical backgrounds. In that case, Uruguyans usually treat their nationality as a citizenship rather than an ethnicity.

Uruguayans share a Spanish linguistic and heavily Spanish cultural background with its neighbour Argentina. Most Uruguayans are descended from colonial-era settlers and immigrants from Europe with almost 88% of the population being of European descent,^[1] The majority of these European immigrants were mainly Spaniards, followed closely by Italians, including numbers of French, Germans, Portuguese, British (English or Scots), Irish, Swiss, Russians, Poles, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Latvians, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Belgians, Austrians, Croats, Greeks and Scandinavians. There are also smaller numbers of Turkish, Armenian, Serbs, Georgian and Lebanese people.

Almost the entire ethnic-European population has at least partial Spanish and/or Italian roots, with many having ancestry from various other ethnic groups, e.g. Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and English descent.

Many Swiss settlements (colonias or "colonies") such as Colonia Suiza, Colonia Valdense and Nueva Helvecia were founded in the department of Colonia. Also, there are towns founded by early British settlers, such as Conchillas and Barker. A Russian colony called San Javier, is found in the department of Río Negro. Also there are Mennonite colonies in the department of Río Negro and in the department of Canelones.

Many of the European immigrants arrived in the late 19th century and have heavily influenced the architecture and culture of Montevideo and other major cities. For this reason, Montevideo and life within the city are very reminiscent of Western Europe.

The rest of the Uruguayan population is Black/Afro-Uruguayan of African descent and about 1 or 2% are of Asian descent, mostly are Lebanese/Syrian Arab, and Chinese or Japanese ancestry (see Bárbara Mori).

Amerindians make up a small population in the Rural North-West region, with Mestizos making up 6% of the Population.

Demographic Distribution

Metropolitan Montevideo, with about one and a half million inhabitants, is the capital and largest city. The rest of the urban population lives in about 20 towns. Montevideo is about 200 kilometers (120 mi) away from Buenos Aires in neighboring Argentina.

Uruguay is distinguished by its high literacy rate (97.3%) and a large urban middle class. During the 1970s and 1980s, an estimated six-hundred thousand Uruguayans emigrated, principally to Spain, Italy, Argentina and Brazil. Other Uruguayans went to various countries in Europe, Australia and the USA.

As a result of the low birth rate, high life expectancy, and relatively high rate of emigration of younger people, Uruguay's population is quite mature. In 2006, the country had a birth rate of 13.91 births per thousand population, lower than neighboring countries Argentina (16.73 births/1000 population)[3] and Brazil (16.56 births/1,000 population).

Church and state are officially separated. While the Government keeps no statistics concerning religious affiliation, a 2004 survey published in the daily newspaper El Pais reported that 54% of those interviewed designated themselves as Roman Catholics, 11% as Protestants, 9% as believers without a religious affiliation, and 26% as nonbelievers.^[2]

Although the majority of Uruguayans do not actively practice a religion, they are nominally members of the Catholic Church and other communities. Political observers consider Uruguay to be the most secular country in South America.^[3]

Uruguay has a traditional socialist welfare state program yet in need of improvement since the 1990s. The average Uruguayan and neighbour country Argentina can be compared with some of the western countries of Europe, and ranks behind that of North American giants the US and Canada.^{[citation needed]}

During the past two decades, an estimated 500,000 Uruguayans had emigrated, principally to Brazil, Argentina and Europe. (Spain is the main destination for Uruguayans, but they are also drawn to the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany). There are 500,000 Uruguayans in Brazil, the largest community of this group and many came there to escape political persecution in the 1970s.

Neighboring ties and short distances between Uruguayan cities and Argentine capital Buenos Aires, have drawn a path of success for very talented Uruguayans who settled in the neighbor country and became famous and locally accepted. Some famous Uruguayans who excelled in Argentina are entrepreneur and financier Juan Navarro, sports journalist Victor Hugo Morales, singer and actress Natalia Oreiro, soccer players Antonio Alzamendi, Enzo Francescoli and Carlos Goyen, actress China Zorrilla, entertainer Carlos Perciavalle and former playboy and journalist Luis César Avilés.

Emigration to the United States also rose recently, but remains a small part of the US Hispanic population. The majority of Uruguayans in the US live in New York City, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and urban areas of California.

Demographic Data^[4]

Demographics of Uruguay, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population

3,494,382 (July 2009 est.)

Note: The 2011 Census of the National Statistics Institute of Uruguay has started in September 2011 and the preliminary results are expected in December 2011.

Age structure

• 0–14 years: 22.4% (male 397,942/female 385,253)
• 15–64 years: 64.3% (male 1,115,963/female 1,129,478)
• 65 years and over: 13.3% (male 187,176/female 278,570) (2009 est.)

Median age

• total: 33.4 years
• male: 32 years
• female: 34.8 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate

0.466% (2009 est.)

Birth rate

13.92 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate

9.09 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Urbanization

• urban population: 92% of total population (2008)
• rate of urbanization: 0.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio

• at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
• 15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate

• total: 11.32 deaths/1,000 live births
• male: 12.73 deaths/1,000 live births
• female: 9.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

• total population: 76.35 years
• male: 73.1 years
• female: 79.72 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.92 children born/woman (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.6% (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

10,000 (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

fewer than 500 (2007 est.)

Nationality

• noun: Uruguayan(s)
• adjective: Uruguayan

Ethnic groups

White 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent)

Religions

Roman Catholic 47.1%, non-Catholic Christians 11.1%, nondenominational 23.2%, Jewish 0.9%, atheist or agnostic 17.2%, other 1.1% (2006)

Languages

Spanish, Portuñol, or Portuguese.

Literacy

• definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 98%
• male: 97.6%
• female: 98.4% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

• total: 15 years
• male: 14 years
• female: 16 years (2006)

Education expenditures

2.9% of GDP (2006)

Notes and references

^ 1. [Transparency.org]

^ 2. Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2002

^ 3. Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2003

^ 4. Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2004

^ 5. Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2005

^ 6. Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006

References

1. ^ Constituciones Hispanoamericanas - Constituciones - Uruguay
2. ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2007
3. ^ UMM | Latin American Area Studies - Countries
4. ^ Central Intelligence Agency. "People :: Uruguay". The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uy.html. Retrieved January 5, 2010.