Government and power in Uruguay

Who leads Uruguay, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary republic.

Who leads Uruguay?

• Head of state: Yamandú Orsi (Presidente de la República Oriental del Uruguay)
• Head of government: No Prime Minister
• Foreign minister: Mario Lubetkin (Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de la República Oriental del Uruguay)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Uruguay

Government

• Official site of the Republic
  Central portal for government bodies, procedures and official news.
• Presidency of the Republic
  Presidential decrees, resolutions and government announcements.

Parliament

• General Assembly (Chamber of Representatives and Chamber of Senators)
  Bills, laws, session records and member information for both chambers.

Elections

• Electoral Court
  Electoral register, official election results and electoral regulations.

Courts

• Judiciary (Supreme Court of Justice)
  Court rulings, the national case-law database and judicial statistics.

Public audit

• Court of Accounts
  Audit opinions on public accounts and resolutions on public spending.

Ombudsman

• National Human Rights Institution and Ombudsman's Office
  Human rights reports, recommendations and complaint handling.

Access to information

• Access to Public Information Unit
  Oversees the access-to-information law and publishes resolutions and compliance reports.

Asset declarations

• Board of Transparency and Public Ethics
  Receives the sworn asset declarations of officials and publishes those of senior office holders.

Public contracts

• State Procurement Regulatory Agency
  Regulates public procurement and publishes tenders and awards.

Laws and the official gazette

• IMPO – Official Information Centre
  The Diario Oficial and a database of laws and decrees in force.

Government below the national level

• Departments (19): Intendente and departmental council (junta departamental, 31 members) directly elected for five years
• Municipios (125 by 2021; more created since): Five-member council directly elected with departmental elections; the alcalde is the top candidate of the most-voted list of the most-voted party

How local power works in Uruguay

Places in Uruguay

• All 19 departments
• Official statistics for Uruguay

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.