Uruguay

Uruguay is a South American country sharing borders with Argentina and Brazil. Its gross domestic product (GDP) of $12,600 per capita in 2009 is among the highest in South America, but income distribution is unequal (the Gini index of 45.2 is 42nd-highest in the world) and 27.4 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Life expectancy is 80 years for women and 71 for men. The population of about 3.5 million is predominantly white (88 percent) with 8 percent mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) and 4 percent black. Roman Catholicism is the most common religion (47.1 percent).

The World Economic Forum rates Uruguay in the middle third of countries with regard to gender equity. On a scale where 0 indicates inequality and 1 perfect equality, overall Uruguay received a score of 0.69 and a rank of 57th among 134 countries. On educational attainment, Uruguay received a score of 1.0 (1st in the world), on health and survival a score of 0.98 (1st), on economic participation and opportunity 0.59 (62nd), and on political empowerment 0.17 (58th).

Female literacy is almost universal (98 percent), and women constitute a majority in tertiary education. Women are less likely to be in the labor force (64 percent, versus 85 percent for men) and although they are overrepresented among professional technical workers, women earn only about 57 percent as much as men, and have almost twice the unemployment rate of men at 12.4 percent versus 6.6 percent. Women are active in politics, although primarily at the lower and middle levels; at the national level, they hold 12 percent of the seats in Parliament and 29 percent of ministerial positions.