Uruguay

The Republic of Uruguay is located in South America, between Brazil and Argentina, with a coast on the Atlantic Ocean. It is divided into 19 departments, with Montevideo as the capital and chief port. Spanish is the official language of Uruguay, and the currency is the Uruguayan peso (UYU).

Uruguay has existed as an independent republic since 18 July 1830, when its first Constitution was approved. Since then, it has taken advantage of its natural harbour to become an important commercial centre.

In 2019, the economic activity grew 0.2% (compared to 2018), a figure that confirmed 17 years of uninterrupted growth, the longest and biggest rate expansion cycle in the country's history.

In terms of activities, telecommunications was the sector that had the greatest impact in the overall growth, increasing 3.5% year over year. Excluding that sector, the gross domestic product (GDP) dropped 0.5% last year, with most sectors of activity in recession.

In terms of components of demand, private investment growth is highlighted for the first time since 2014, and exports increased 1.2% after falling the previous year. On the other hand, private consumption continues with its deceleration, growing only 0.5%.

The new President took office on 1 March 2020. Two weeks later, plans had to be dramatically changed because of the world COVID-19 pandemic. The measures taken to control the virus generated a large shock for the economic activity. However, the trust of investors in the country was confirmed by the success of the emission of public bonds in the international market.

Uruguay's strengths in this context are a financial system less exposed to exchange rate risk, less dollarization of public debt (approximately 10%) and the investor grade. The main macro weakness is a deficit level of 5% of GDP that is expected to increase due to a drop in activity and an increase in spending in some areas, which limits government policies.

PwC Uruguay currently has offices located in Montevideo city, the World Trade Center Free Zone, Zonamerica business park, and Punta del Este, with over 400 professionals trained in audit, accounting, tax, economics, information technology (IT), human resources, and operational management. This places PwC as one of the largest professional services organisations in Uruguay.