Uruguay

**No major developments in the last ~60 days (since ~late April 2026) significantly shift Uruguay’s youth instability baseline (youth unemployment 15-24 male national at 22.9% for 2025; national instability fuse score 43.3/100).** The picture remains one of structurally elevated youth joblessness (consistent with or slightly above baseline levels), modest overall labor market stability, ongoing but non-escalating concerns around crime/poverty/security, and high digital access with no disruptions.[[1]](https://es.tradingeconomics.com/uruguay/unemployment-rate)[[2]](https://tradingeconomics.com/uruguay/unemployment-rate/news/556247)

**1. Youth unemployment data/releases:**  
The most recent official figures come from Uruguay’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) Continuous Household Survey (ECH) for April 2026 (released around early June 2026): overall unemployment at 7.5% (down from 7.8% in March and 8.0% in April 2025); youth unemployment (ages 14-24) at 23.3%. This is the highest rate among age groups, compared to 10.2% for ages 25-29 and under 7% for most older groups. Overall unemployment by gender: 6.4% men, 8.7% women. No new ILO/World Bank modeled estimates or male-specific 15-24 breakdowns were released in the period; prior annual modeled data show total youth (15-24) unemployment at ~25.15% for 2025.[[3]](https://www.gub.uy/instituto-nacional-estadistica/tematica/actividad-empleo-desempleo)[[4]](https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/el-desempleo-en-uruguay-baja-a-7%2C5-%25-en-abril-de-2026/91524682)[[5]](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SLUEM1524ZSURY)

A May 1, 2026, social media post from Juventud Partido Nacional highlighted high youth unemployment as a source of frustration. A related video discussion on youth unemployment, mental health, and political activism appeared around two months prior. No new government, ILO, or World Bank releases in the window alter the 2025 baseline materially.[[6]](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXzbhhVJOCE/)

**2. Political, security, or economic events affecting young men (18-35):**  
No protests, coup attempts, militia recruitment, or major economic shocks/currency crises specific to young men were reported in the period. Broader context includes a modest economic slowdown (growth projected at ~1.8% for 2026 after ~2% prior year, amid weak harvest, strong peso, and competitiveness pressures), with some firm closures noted in 2025 but no acute crisis. Security showed modest improvement (homicides down slightly in preliminary 2025 data to a rate of 10.3 per 100,000; robberies and scams declined double-digits year-over-year), though crime/drug-trafficking and prison issues remain concerns. Earlier (Feb 2026) UN CESCR review raised questions on youth unemployment and child poverty (~44% of those in poverty under 18) but noted education enrollment gains.[[7]](https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/uruguays-orsi-confronts-economic-headwinds-and-shifting-geopolitics/)[[8]](https://www.ohchr.org/en/meeting-summaries/2026/02/experts-committee-economic-social-and-cultural-rights-commend-uruguay)

**3. NGO/academic reports on youth situation (2025 publications):**  
- UNICEF Uruguay Annual Report 2025 (released ~Feb 2026) notes child labor prevalence at 6.8% (ages 5-17, with boys more in economic activities) and ongoing challenges for vulnerable children/families.[[9]](https://open.unicef.org/download-pdf?country-name=Uruguay&year=2025)[[9]](https://open.unicef.org/download-pdf?country-name=Uruguay&year=2025)  
- BTI 2026 Uruguay Country Report (covering developments through 2025) highlights persistent issues like child poverty, rising homicides linked to drug trafficking, and labor market challenges, with the new government facing education/labor reform needs.[[10]](https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/URY)[[10]](https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/URY)  
- UNDP country program document (Nov 2025) notes labor market constraints for youth. No major new 2025-dated NGO/academic reports surfaced specifically in the last 60 days.

**4. Internet/mobile infrastructure:**  
No shutdowns, rollouts, or coverage changes reported. Uruguay maintains high access: ~93% internet penetration and ~7.3 million mobile connections (~216% of population, reflecting multiple SIMs) as of late 2025 data, with stable competitive markets and no election-related or other disruptions noted for 2026.[[11]](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-uruguay)

**Overall assessment:** Youth unemployment remains structurally high and consistent with the baseline (recent total youth rate of 23.3% in April 2026 is close to the 2025 male-specific figure). Broader stability, modest security gains, and high digital access do not indicate an escalation in instability risk. Continued monitoring of monthly INE youth breakdowns and any new ILO updates would be warranted. Sources include INE.gub.uy releases, Trading Economics summaries, World Bank/FRED modeled data, and reports from UNICEF/UNDP/BTI.

**• INE Uruguay (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) – National statistics bureau**  
URL: https://www.ine.gub.uy/ (open data portal: https://www4.ine.gub.uy/Anda5/index.php/opendata)  
API: Yes (open data/API for developers; also bulk/machine-readable downloads like Excel/CSV for Encuesta Continua de Hogares labor/unemployment data)  
Update frequency: Monthly/quarterly (labor force, unemployment, informality, poverty)  
Auth required: None/free

**• Banco Central del Uruguay (BCU) – Central bank**  
URL: https://www.bcu.gub.uy/ (Statistics-Studies section)  
API: Partial/yes (dedicated API for exchange rates/cotizaciones at https://cotizaciones.bcu.gub.uy/; statistics database with downloads and some web services)  
Update frequency: Daily to quarterly (economic indicators, employment-related via national accounts)  
Auth required: None/free (public sections)

**• CEPALSTAT (ECLAC/United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean)**  
URL: https://statistics.cepal.org/portal/cepalstat/index.html?lang=en  
API: Yes (Open Data/API for massive data access; interactive tables, bulk downloads)  
Update frequency: Periodic/annual or as new data released (LAC-wide with Uruguay country breakdowns on employment, poverty, youth, SDGs)  
Auth required: None/free

**• ILOSTAT (ILO) – Americas labor statistics**  
URL: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/ (Americas subset)  
API: Partial (data explorer/tools for downloads in Excel/CSV; bulk access options)  
Update frequency: Regular updates (labor force, unemployment by age/sex, youth indicators; country-level for Uruguay)  
Auth required: None/free

**• World News API / Uruguay news sources (for RSS/API monitoring)**  
URL: https://worldnewsapi.com/docs/news-sources/uruguay-news-api/ (monitors ~10 Uruguay sources)  
API: Yes (REST API for news search)  
Update frequency: Daily (hundreds of items)  
Auth required: Free tier available (paid for higher volume)

**• OPHI / MPPN (Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative) – Multidimensional Poverty Index (via INE partnership)**  
URL: https://ophi.org.uk/ (Uruguay MPI pages)  
API: No (reports/downloads; data primarily through INE)  
Update frequency: Annual (national MPI launched 2025, complements monetary poverty)  
Auth required: None/free (public reports)

These are primary, accessible, non-inference sources focused on direct data (labor, economic, poverty, crisis-related) for Uruguay, with country/LAC breakdowns where relevant. They complement the already-used global sources like World Bank and ACLED. Regional options like IDB harmonized surveys or Humdata.org provide additional crisis/poverty context but are often derived from the above.