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
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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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.
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
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 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:-
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.
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 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.
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.