Uruguay is a constitutional republic with an elected president and a bicameral legislature. The President is both head of state and head of government. Legislative power is shared by the government and the two chambers of the General Assembly. The Cabinet is appointed by the president. In the General Assembly, there is a 99-seat Chamber of Deputies and a 31-seat Senate; both houses are elected to 5- year terms by proportional representation.

In October 2004, in elections on the basis of universal suffrage, the leader of the Broad Front party (Frente Amplio) won a 5-year term as President as well as control of both houses. The election not only ended the long domination of the Blanco and Colorado coalition but also for the first time in 50 years gave a party an absolute majority in the Assembly. Women account for 4 Senators, 11 Deputies and 3 of 13 Cabinet ministers. An Afro-Uruguayan is the only member of a minority. The judiciary is independent in law and in practice. Supreme Court judges are nominated by the President and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly.

Discrimination based on race, gender, religion or disability is illegal, but social discrimination against some groups is reported.

The new President decided to deal with the dark past of disappearances and murders attributed to the military. The decision has angered military leaders as well as opposition political leaders. The head of the military has been dismissed, as he was seen to be blocking the investigation into the human rights abuses. Isolated reports of government corruption have appeared, but the 2006 Transparency International Index rates Uruguay as one of the countries that have significantly improved their rating since 2005.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed by the constitution, except for inciting violence or insulting the nation. Reporters Without Borders notes that press freedom is thriving. Uruguayans have access to a wide range of political views through a multiplicity of newspapers and radio and television channels. Internet access is not restricted.

Uruguay remains a source, transit and destination country for persons trafficked for exploitation, with young women aged 18 to 24 the main victims. A group of more than 100 Chinese citizens, men aged 20 to 38, were found to have been trafficked and forced to work 18 to 20 hours a day on a rice farm. 15 of them were in debt bondage.

The new government has passed legislation that will allow homosexual couples who have lived together for at least 5 years to have their relationship recognised as a civil partnership with equivalent legal protections to marriage. The new law will affect inheritance, taxation and child custody.

Education is free and compulsory from kindergarten through secondary school, and then free through the undergraduate level at the national university. 95% of children complete primary education. An increasing number of street children are reported. NGOs provide programmes to assist the homeless and children who are victims of trafficking

A 3-year programme begins at age 3. At this level 19% of education is private. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) is 64%.

Education is compulsory for ages 6 to 15. Primary school begins at age 6 and continues for 6 years. At this level 13% of education is private. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 92% (48% female). Of students who enrol in Grade 1, 92% reach the last grade of primary school. 8% of students repeat grades. 17,235 teachers work at this level. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 21 : 1.

Secondary education begins at age 12 and is completed in 6 years. At this level 52% of education is private. 19% of students in upper secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The NER is 73%. There are 5,422 secondary teachers, 3,132 (62% female) in lower secondary and 2,290 (62% female) in upper secondary school. The PTR is 19 : 1 in both lower and upper secondary school.

98,520 students (65% female) study in tertiary institutions, giving a GER of 38% (26% of men, 50% of women). At this level 10% of education is private. 2,100 students come to study in Uruguay from unspecified countries. Meanwhile, 1,873 Uruguayan students study abroad, mainly in the USA (532), Argentina (497), Cuba (280), Spain (72) and France (71).

All citizens have access to public and free education. Uruguay has promoted the integration of physically disabled children into mainstream schools since 1985. In this process, enclosed special education classes in schools were replaced by individual support classes with additional support from itinerant teachers. During 2001-04 a policy framework introduced individualised teaching strategies. Successful implementation of such change requires funding, training and personnel. There are 8,900 disabled children attending special education institutions, while 2,500 children with special educational needs are integrated into regular schools. The poverty rate is high among special needs children, with 50% of them reported to be living below the poverty line.

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited, but the legislation is not fully enforced. Reports do not cite discrimination against persons with disabilities in education or in other state services. 4% of public sector jobs are reserved for persons with disabilities. The mental health system is reported to be effective and promotes the rights of persons with mental disabilities. Juvenile offenders are sent to halfway houses focusing on rehabilitation, where they are provided with education and vocational training opportunities.

The law provides for the granting of refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. The government cooperates with the Office of the UNHCR and other organisations to assist refugees and asylum-seekers.

Uruguay is taking steps to gather information on indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities through surveys they hope will help identify solutions to discrimination. Indigenous and minority groups are believed to compose 10% of the population; they are seriously underrepresented in the professions. The country's Afro-Uruguayan minority, accounting for 6% of the population, faces social discrimination. They work as unskilled labourers despite equivalent levels of education and are unrepresented in government employment and in education.

During the period of the dictatorship, academic freedom was severely curtailed. Reports do not indicate this is the case at present, and no cases of violation of academic freedom have been raised.

Women have the same rights as men in the justice system and under family and property law. Discrimination stems from traditional attitudes and practices. Women make up one-half the workforce, where they are concentrated in lower-paying jobs. The average salaries of women are two-thirds those of men, though this gap is narrowing gradually with advancing pay equity. Women are under-represented in traditionally male-dominated professions and segregated by gender in the work force. Some 65% of students at the public university are women.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal, but few complaints are filed. Violence against women and trafficking in women for prostitution are problems, with courts reported to be unwilling to apply criminal penalties in the former case.

The minimum age for employment is 15. Children aged 15 to 18 require government permission to work, which is not granted for dangerous or night work or for work of more than 6 hours a day or 36 hours in a week. Permission to work is only granted to minors who have completed 9 years of compulsory education or who remain enrolled in school and are working to complete compulsory education. All workers under age 18 must have a physical examination to ensure there is no job-related physical harm. This legislation is enforced.

But most children who work do so in the informal sector as street vendors or in agricultural activities, which are less well regulated and less well paid than the formal sector. Controls over salaries and hours for children are stricter than those for adults. Children have the legal right to dispose of their own income. A programme by an NGO provides food vouchers to parents who take their children off the streets and send them to school. The stipend to parents is the equivalent of what a child would earn, and the programme is considered successful.

Workers have the right to form and join trade unions. Unions are reported to be organising among professional groups, including doctors and the police. Civil servants can join unions. The rate of unionisation is more than 80% in the public sector but only about 5% in the private sector. Unions are independent of political parties. Public-sector salaries are determined by the executive branch of government, whereas private sector salaries and conditions are determined by collective bargaining. Labour legislation covers workers in the export processing zones. Workers have the right to strike, though essential service workers can be compelled to work during a strike.

Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited, but such practices occur among trafficking victims. A legislated minimum monthly wage applies to both public and private sectors. The minimum wage is adjusted when public sector wages are increased. The minimum wage is US$109 (2,500 pesos) a month, which does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The vast majority of workers earn more than the minimum wage. The work week is 44 to 48 hours a week.