Uruguay

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Oriental Republic of Uruguay
  • República Oriental del Uruguay  (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Libertad o Muerte" (Spanish)
"Freedom or Death"
Anthem: Himno Nacional de Uruguay
National Anthem of Uruguay
Capital
and largest city
Montevideo
34°53′S 56°10′W / 34.883°S 56.167°W / -34.883; -56.167
Official languages Spanish
Ethnic groups ([1])
Demonym Uruguayan
Government Unitary presidential constitutional republic
 -  President Tabaré Vázquez
 -  Vice President Raúl Sendic
Legislature General Assembly
 -  Upper house Chamber of Senators
 -  Lower house Chamber of Deputies
Independence from the Empire of Brazil
 -  Declaration 25 August 1825 
 -  Recognition 28 August 1828 
 -  Constitution 18 July 1830 
Area
 -  Total 176,215 km2 (91st)
68,037 sq mi
 -  Water (%) 1.5
Population
 -  2011 estimate 3,318,535[1] (133rd)
 -  2011 census 3,286,314[2]
 -  Density 18.65/km2 (196th)
48.3/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate
 -  Total $56.338 billion[3]
 -  Per capita $16,607[3]
GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate
 -  Total $55.412 billion[3]
 -  Per capita $16,334[3]
Gini (2010) 45.3[4]
medium
HDI (2013) Increase 0.792[5]
high · 51st
Currency Uruguayan peso (UYU)
Time zone UYT (UTC−3)
 -  Summer (DST) UYST (UTC−2)
Drives on the right
Calling code +598
Internet TLD .uy
Location of Uraguay

Uruguay is a country in South America. The language spoken there is Spanish. Its capital and largest city is Montevideo. Uruguay is bordered by two large neighbors, Brazil and Argentina. The only country in South America that is smaller than Uruguay is Suriname. The land there is mostly flat, and there are many farms in the countryside.

Departments[change | change source]

Map of the departments of Uruguay

Uruguay is divided into 19 Departments.

Department Capital Area Population (2011 census)[6]
Artigas Artigas 700411928000000000011,928 km2 (4,605 sq mi) 73,162
Canelones Canelones 70034536000000000004,536 km2 (1,751 sq mi) 518,154
Cerro Largo Melo 700413648000000000013,648 km2 (5,270 sq mi) 84,555
Colonia Colonia del Sacramento 70036106000000000006,106 km2 (2,358 sq mi) 122,863
Durazno Durazno 700411643000000000011,643 km2 (4,495 sq mi) 57,082
Flores Trinidad 70035144000000000005,144 km2 (1,986 sq mi) 25,033
Florida Florida 700410417000000000010,417 km2 (4,022 sq mi) 67,093
Lavalleja Minas 700410016000000000010,016 km2 (3,867 sq mi) 58,843
Maldonado Maldonado 70034793000000000004,793 km2 (1,851 sq mi) 161,571
Montevideo Montevideo 7002530000000000000530 km2 (200 sq mi) 1,292,347
Paysandú Paysandú 700413922000000000013,922 km2 (5,375 sq mi) 113,112
Río Negro Fray Bentos 70039282000000000009,282 km2 (3,584 sq mi) 54,434
Rivera Rivera 70039370000000000009,370 km2 (3,620 sq mi) 103,447
Rocha Rocha 700410551000000000010,551 km2 (4,074 sq mi) 66,955
Salto Salto 700414163000000000014,163 km2 (5,468 sq mi) 124,683
San José San José de Mayo 70034992000000000004,992 km2 (1,927 sq mi) 108,025
Soriano Mercedes 70039008000000000009,008 km2 (3,478 sq mi) 82,108
Tacuarembó Tacuarembó 700415438000000000015,438 km2 (5,961 sq mi) 89,993
Treinta y Tres Treinta y Tres 70039529000000000009,529 km2 (3,679 sq mi) 48,066
Total¹ 7005175016000000000175,016 km2 (67,574 sq mi) 3,251,526

Geography[change | change source]

The highest point in the country is the Cerro Catedral whose peak reaches to 514 metres (1,686 ft).

Uruguay has 660 km of coastline.[1]

There are nine National Parks in Uruguay. Five in the wetland areas of the east, three in the central hill country and one in the west along the Rio Uruguay.

Economy[change | change source]

Agriculture[change | change source]

According to FAOSTAT, Uruguay is one of world's largest producers of: soybeans (9th); greasy wool (12th); horse meat (14th); beeswax (14th); quinces (17th); natural honey (19th); cattle meat (20th).[7] On December 20, 2013, Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize the cultivation, sale, and use of cannabis.[8]

Demographics[change | change source]

Colour/Race (self-reported, 2008)[9]
White 95.4%
Black/African 3.4%
Indigenous 1.1%
Asian/Amarillo 0.1%

Uruguayans are mostly of European origin. 88%, or 88 of 100 people, are from European descent.[1]

Sports[change | change source]

Centenario Stadium

Football is the most popular sport in Uruguay. The Uruguay national football team has won the FIFA World Cup on two occasions.

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Central Intelligence Agency. "Uruguay". The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uy.html. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  2. Resultados del Censo de Población 2011: población, crecimiento y estructura por sexo y edad ine.gub.uy
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Uruguay". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=1980&ey=2017&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=67&pr1.y=10&c=298&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a=. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  4. "Gini Index". World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI/countries/UY?display=graph. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  5. "Human Development Report 2013". United Nations Development Programme. 14 March 2013. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR2013_EN_Complete.pdf. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  6. "Censos 2011 - Instituto Nacional de Estadistica". Instituto Nacional de Estadística. http://www.ine.gub.uy/censos2011/index.html. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  7. "FAOSTAT 2008 by Production". faostat.fao.org. http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  8. "Uruguay becomes first country to legalize marijuana trade". NBCNews.com. http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/10/21852934-uruguay-becomes-first-country-to-legalize-marijuana-trade. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  9. "Encuesta Continua de Hogares 2008 – Ascendencia principal declarada". Instituto Nacional de Estadística. http://www.ine.gub.uy/anda/ddibrowser/?id=11&section=variable&varid=V432. Retrieved 2 December 2010.

Official Websites[change | change source]