Uruguay has the highest share of urban residents in Latin America, with 95.9% of its population living in urban areas in 2024, according to the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanisation Prospects .

The UN estimates that nearly all Uruguayans now live in cities and towns, reflecting one of the world's most urbanised societies. The country's population is heavily concentrated around Montevideo, which, together with its surrounding metropolitan area, accounts for more than half of the national population.

Puerto Rico ranks second with 93.7%, followed by Argentina at 92.6%. Venezuela places fourth with 88.5%, narrowly ahead of Chile at 88.1% and Brazil at 88.0%.

Among Latin America's largest economies, urban populations now dominate national demographics.

Brazil, the region's most populous country, has almost nine in ten people living in urban areas. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte and Salvador remain among the country's largest metropolitan centres.

Mexico ranks tenth with 81.9%, driven by continued growth around Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Colombia follows closely with 82.7%, where Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla account for a significant share of the country's population.

The Dominican Republic records 85.0%, while Costa Rica reaches 83.2%, with urban growth concentrated around Santo Domingo and the Greater Metropolitan Area of San José, respectively.

According to the United Nations, Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the world's most urbanised regions, with urbanisation accelerating rapidly throughout the second half of the 20th century as millions of people moved from rural areas to cities in search of employment, education and healthcare.

The UN projects that urbanisation will continue increasing across much of the region over the coming decades, although growth is expected to slow as many countries approach saturation levels where the overwhelming majority of their populations already live in urban areas.

The index, published by the Global Tax Expenditures Lab (GTEL), evaluates how governments disclose tax expenditures, including tax exemptions, deductions, credits and reduced tax rates. These measures represent government revenue forgone through the tax system and are widely used to support economic sectors, investment and social policy .

Indonesia climbed one place from the previous edition to lead the global rankings with 79.9 points, narrowly ahead of the Republic of Korea, which scored 78.3 after slipping from first place.

Australia recorded one of the greatest improvements, rising eight places to third with 76.3, while the Netherlands also climbed eight positions to fourth on 75.5. Canada completed the top five with 72.9, despite dropping two places.

Germany ranked sixth with 72.2, followed by the Russian Federation on 71.3. Benin emerged as Africa's highest-ranked country, placing eighth globally with 71.0, while France and Brazil rounded out the top ten with 68.9 and 68.8, respectively.

Unlike broader tax competitiveness rankings, the GTETI focuses exclusively on transparency. It assesses whether governments publish comprehensive information about tax expenditures, including their legal basis, estimated fiscal cost, policy objectives, beneficiaries and regular evaluations.

The index examines five key dimensions: institutional frameworks, the quality and scope of reporting, accessibility of information, oversight and accountability, and the use of evaluations to determine whether tax incentives achieve their intended goals.

According to the Global Tax Expenditures Lab, transparent reporting allows governments, legislators and the public to better understand the true cost of tax incentives and whether they deliver value for money.

Tax expenditures can amount to several percentage points of a country's gross domestic product and often rival direct government spending in size. Yet many governments still provide limited public information on these measures.

The GTETI argues that stronger reporting improves fiscal accountability, supports evidence-based policymaking and helps governments assess whether tax incentives remain justified over time.

During the summit, Trump criticised Spain, calling it a "wasted cause" and announcing a halt to US trade with the country after Madrid resisted US calls to increase defence spending and support military action against Iran .

Fico said the meeting also showed that some NATO members were interested in opening dialogue with Russia, a position Slovakia has long supported.

He reiterated that Slovakia would not contribute to NATO's €70 billion military aid package for Ukraine or the EU's €90 billion military loan.

"We are in favour of cooperation, dialogue and humanitarian aid; however, we are not in favour of war ," Fico said.

NATO leaders agreed during the July 7-8 summit to provide €70 billion in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine in 2026, with a commitment to maintain similar support in 2027.

The European Union has introduced sweeping changes to the way low-value imports are handled, ending a long-standing system that allowed millions of inexpensive parcels to enter the bloc with minimal customs scrutiny.

Since 1 July 2026, new customs rules have been designed to tighten oversight of cross-border e-commerce, improve product safety and create fairer competition for European retailers.

The reform, proposed by the European Commission as part of its Customs Union overhaul, comes after a surge in small parcels shipped directly to EU consumers. According to the Commission, around 5.8 billion low-value consignments entered the EU in 2025, equivalent to roughly 12 million parcels every day. Approximately 90% of those shipments originated from China , with platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress accounting for a significant share of the volume.

Under the new framework, every imported parcel will require a customs declaration, including consignments valued below €150, which previously benefited from simplified procedures.

Online marketplaces also face a handling fee on direct-to-consumer shipments. The European Commission has proposed a €2 fee for parcels handled through the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) system and €3 for consignments processed outside that scheme.

The measure still requires approval by EU member states and the European Parliament, but customs reforms introducing stricter controls have begun taking effect from July. Reuters has reported that the proposed fee is intended to help national customs authorities manage the rapidly growing volume of imports.

Consumers may therefore face higher final prices as retailers pass on some of the additional administrative and customs costs.

EU officials argue that the existing system has struggled to cope with the explosive growth of ultra-low-cost online shopping.

The Council of the European Union and the European Commission say the reforms aim to reduce unfair competition for European businesses, strengthen customs enforcement and improve checks on products entering the single market. Authorities have repeatedly raised concerns about unsafe products, undervalued shipments and counterfeit goods entering through high-volume e-commerce channels.

The Commission estimates that the previous customs framework was designed for a far smaller volume of imports and no longer reflects today's digital retail market.

"Ukraine has the right to defend its territory - territorial integrity. We maintain our humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, but as I have said many times before, Hungary will not provide arms or troops to Ukraine," he said.

Despite Budapest's position on military aid, Magyar said Hungary remained committed to strengthening its own defence capabilities and would gradually increase military spending to meet NATO's long-term target.

"The Hungarian government has already decided to increase the defence spending in a predictable manner, and we will reach the 5 percent by 2035," he said.

NATO leaders are meeting in Ankara on July 7 and 8, with defence spending, continued support for Ukraine and the future direction of the alliance among the key issues on the agenda.

Speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump argued that the Arctic island was strategically important to US national security , citing the presence of Russian and Chinese ships in nearby waters.

"It was Greenland that, and it continues to be, that should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark. And when they wouldn't go along with it, and with all the money we spent to help them with Russia, and we don't have to spend any money, we could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe," Trump said.

He also warned European allies to focus on immigration and energy policies.

"If they're not careful with those two things, you're not going to have a Europe anymore," he added.

Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Both the Danish and Greenlandic governments have repeatedly rejected the idea of a US takeover, maintaining that the island's future should be determined by the people of Greenland.

Trump's remarks came as NATO leaders gathered in Ankara on July 7 and 8 to discuss defence spending, continued support for Ukraine and the future direction of the alliance.