Demographics of Uruguay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
| Total population |
|---|
| 4,277,980 Uruguayans |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Uruguay: |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
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.
 |
|---|
|
Communications |
Contents |
[edit] Origins and Ethnicity
Uruguayans share a Spanish linguistic and cultural background with its neighbour country 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, Georgian and Lebanese people.
Almost the entire white Population has Spanish and (Or) Italian Roots, with many having ancestry from various Ethnic Groups; E.G - Spanish, Italian, French and English Decent.
Many Swiss colonies such as Colonia Suiza, Colonia Valdense and Nueva Helvecia are founded in the department of Colonia. Also, there are towns founded by early British settlers, like Conchillas and Barker. A Russian colony called San Javier, is found in the department of Río Negro. Also there are Mennonites colonies in the department of Río Negro and in the department of Canelones. One of them, called El Ombú, is famous by his well know Dulce de Leche "Claldy", and is located near the city of Young.
Many of the European immigrants arrived to Uruguay in the late 1800s 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 Barbara Mori).
Amerindians make up a small population in the Rural North-West region, with Mestizo's making up 6% of the Population.
[edit] 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 (124 miles) 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 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, DC and urban areas of California.
[edit] Demographic Data
[edit] Population
3,477,778 (July 2008 est.)
[edit] Age structure
0-14 years: 22.7% (male 401,209/female 388,315) 15-64 years: 64% (male 1,105,891/female 1,120,858) 65 years and over: 13.3% (male 185,704/female 275,801) (2008 est.)
[edit] Population growth rate
0.486% (2008 est.)
[edit] Birth rate
14.17 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
[edit] Death rate
9.12 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
[edit] Net migration rate
-0.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
[edit] Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
[edit] Infant mortality rate
15.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
[edit] Life expectancy at birth
total population: 75.24 years
male: 71.9 years
female: 78.75 years (2000 est.)
[edit] Total fertility rate
1.96 children born/woman (2004 est.)
[edit] Nationality
noun: Uruguayan(s); Oriental(s)
adjective: Uruguayan
[edit] Ethnic groups
White 88% (European), Mestizo 8.2%, African descent 4% Amerindian nonexistent.
[edit] Religions
Roman Catholic 54% (less than one-half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 11%, Jewish 0.8%, nonprofessing or other 34%.
[edit] Languages
Spanish
[edit] Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.3%
male: 96.9%
female: 97.7% (1995 est.)
[edit] 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
[edit] References
|
||||||||||||||
