Where is Uruguay?
About Uruguay
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
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Uruguay is a large country in the south east of South America.
Uruguay has a border on the Atlantic Ocean.
The land is a mixture of hills and plains with a coastal lowland.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Uruguay, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 33 00S
Longitude - 56 00W
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Check the weather in Montevideo now.
This is the time in Montevideo now
The Uruguayan flag is 9 equal horizontal
stripes of alternating white and blue, white at top and bottom. A white square in the top, flag pole side contains a yellow sun with a human face. The sun 16 ray's
alternate between triangular and wavy. The face is said to represent Inti, the Inca god of the sun.
The capital of Uruguay is Montevideo.
Uruguay is a presidential republic with a president as head of state and head of government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 must vote.
The currency in Uruguay is the Uruguayan peso.
Spanish is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
Uruguay is a presidential republic with a president as head of state and head of government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 must vote.
The currency in Uruguay is the Uruguayan peso.
Spanish is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Uruguay to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Uruguay is 175,015 sq kms which is the 11th largest in South America.
Uruguay has lakes, rivers and canals which total 1,200 sq kms.
Uruguay has boundaries with 2 countries
- Brazil 1,050 kms
- Argentina 541 kms
Uruguay has a coastline of 660 kms which is the 8th longest in South America.
The highest point in Uruguay is Cerro Catedral at 514 metres.
The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.
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The total population of Uruguay is 3.35 million people, making it the 12th largest country in South America by population.
Of this number 1.73 million are females and 1.62 million are males.
A person from Uruguay is called a Uruguayan.
To be a citizen of Uruguay you must be born in Uruguay or one of your parents must be a citizen of Uruguay. You have to live in Uruguay for
between 3 and 5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Uruguay, by population are:-
- Montevideo 1,270,737 people
- Salto 99,823
- Paysandu 73,249
- Las Piedras 69,682
- Rivera 64,631
For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
95.3% of the people live in cities or towns.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
95.3% of the people live in cities or towns.
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The birth rate in Uruguay is 13.0 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Uruguay is 9.4 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 7.6 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 9.5 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 36.4 and for males is 33.0. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 22.5. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 4.4. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
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Uruguay spends 8.6% of its total income on health care.
There are 3.74 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 2.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
27.9% of the population are estimated as obese.
100.0% of the urban population and 93.9% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
96.6% of the urban population and 92.6% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Uruguay releases 7.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 9th highest in South America.
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Uruguay spends 4.4% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Uruguay. Primary education is for six years until age 12 and secondary education must continue till 15 but can go on to 18/19. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 3 terms and starts in the first week of March and finishes in the middle of December. There is usually a 1 week
break at the beginning of July and a 1 week break in the middle of September.
98.9% of females and 98.1% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
13.8% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 28.7% are unemployed while with males 20.2% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Uruguay is 1.74 million.
They work in the following sectors.
- Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
- Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
- Services is everything else
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There are 11 paved airports in Uruguay, which is the 11th highest number in South America.
There are 1,673 kilometres of railways in Uruguay, the 7th longest in South America.
There are 7,743 kilometres of roads in Uruguay, which means Uruguay is in 8th place for the most kilometres of roads in South America.
There are 4 major national newspapers in Uruguay.
There are 5.50 million mobile phone users.
33% of the people have a fixed landline.
2.16 million people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).
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