Uruguay

Uruguay mod (officially named Oriental Republic of 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 is mostly flat, and there are many farms in the countryside.

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
Official language	Spanish Uruguayan Sign Language
Ethnic groups ([1])	88% White 8% Mestizo 4% Black <1% Amerindian
Demonym(s)	Uruguayan
Government	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
• President	Yamandú Orsi
• Vice President	Carolina Cosse
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 (68,037 sq mi) (91st)
• Water (%)	1.5
Population
• 2011 estimate	3,318,535[1] (133rd)
• 2011 census	3,286,314[2]
• Density	18.65/km2 (48.3/sq mi) (196th)
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 (2023)	0.863[5] very high · 51st
Currency	Uruguayan peso (UYU)
Time zone	UTC−3 (UYT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−2 (UYST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+598
ISO 3166 code	UY
Internet TLD	.uy

Location of Uraguay

The area around Uruguay was fought over by the Portuguese and Spanish Empires in the 18th century. In the 1810s it was the center of the Banda Oriental, a Federal League of states in the Río de la Plata region. Argentina and Brazil took the majority in wars, leaving Uruguay as independent.

History

Before Europeans came to the land, no more than 10 thousand native people lived here. Spanish explorer Juan Díaz de Solís first explored the land in 1516.^[6]

Departments

Map of the departments of Uruguay

Main article: Departments of Uruguay

Uruguay is divided into 19 different Departments.

Department	Capital	Area	Population (2011 census)[7]
Artigas	Artigas	11,928 km2 (4,605 sq mi)	73,162
Canelones	Canelones	4,536 km2 (1,751 sq mi)	518,154
Cerro Largo	Melo	13,648 km2 (5,270 sq mi)	84,555
Colonia	Colonia del Sacramento	6,106 km2 (2,358 sq mi)	122,863
Durazno	Durazno	11,643 km2 (4,495 sq mi)	57,082
Flores	Trinidad	5,144 km2 (1,986 sq mi)	25,033
Florida	Florida	10,417 km2 (4,022 sq mi)	67,093
Lavalleja	Minas	10,016 km2 (3,867 sq mi)	58,843
Maldonado	Maldonado	4,793 km2 (1,851 sq mi)	161,571
Montevideo	Montevideo	530 km2 (200 sq mi)	1,292,347
Paysandú	Paysandú	13,922 km2 (5,375 sq mi)	113,112
Río Negro	Fray Bentos	9,282 km2 (3,584 sq mi)	54,434
Rivera	Rivera	9,370 km2 (3,620 sq mi)	103,447
Rocha	Rocha	10,551 km2 (4,074 sq mi)	66,955
Salto	Salto	14,163 km2 (5,468 sq mi)	124,683
San José	San José de Mayo	4,992 km2 (1,927 sq mi)	108,025
Soriano	Mercedes	9,008 km2 (3,478 sq mi)	82,108
Tacuarembó	Tacuarembó	15,438 km2 (5,961 sq mi)	89,993
Treinta y Tres	Treinta y Tres	9,529 km2 (3,679 sq mi)	48,066
Total¹	—	175,016 km2 (67,574 sq mi)	3,251,526

• ¹Doesn't include the artificial lakes on the Rio Negro (1,199 km²).Archived 2013-11-13 at the Wayback Machine

Geography

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.

• 2nd smallest country on continent
• South America
• Sandy beaches near Montevideo
• In the north, a series of low mountains run north into the highlands of Brazil
• 176,220 square kilometers
• Mostly hills
• A lot of water rich lands
• Near Brazil and Argentina

Economy

Agriculture

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).^[8] On December 20, 2013, Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize the cultivation, sale, and use of cannabis.^[9]

Demographics

Colour/Race (self-reported, 2008)[10]
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

Centenario Stadium

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