Facts about Uruguay

Uruguay then experienced a series of both elected and appointed presidents and saw conflicts with neighboring states, political and economic fluctuations and modernization, and large inflows of immigrants, mostly from Europe.

Uruguay is also unique in South America as the only country in the region in which the Roman Catholic Church does not exercise overweening power.

Uruguayans share a Spanish linguistic and cultural background, even though approximately one-fourth of the population is of Italian origin.

The longest and most important of the rivers draining westward is the Rнo Negro, which crosses the entire country from northeast to west before emptying into the Rнo Uruguay.

The latter is due to Uruguay's many Italian immigrants who arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Uruguay's annual Carnival is a major event, with many unique features distinguishing it from those of its neighbors.

During the past two decades, an estimated 500,000 Uruguayans have emigrated, principally to Argentina and Brazil and a smaller group to the United States and Europe.

Uruguay's first constitution was adopted in 1830, following the conclusion of a three-year war in which Argentina and Uruguay acted as a regional federation.

The climate in Uruguay is temperate, but fairly warm, as freezing temperatures are almost unknown.

Uruguay is a member of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), a trade association based in Montevideo that includes 10 South American countries plus Mexico and Cuba.

Rock, jazz, pop and other Euro-American styles also enjoy great popularity in Uruguay.

Sixty-six percent of Uruguayans are Roman Catholics; however, the influence of the Catholic Church is much less apparent on the social and political fabric of Uruguay than the nations of Brazil, Argentina or Chile.

Nearly half of Uruguay's people live in the capital and largest city, Montevideo.

Three systems of rivers drain the land: rivers flow westward to the Rнo Uruguay, eastward to the Atlantic or tidal lagoons bordering the ocean, and south to the Rнo de la Plata.

The Oriental Republic of Uruguay, or Uruguay, is a country located in the southern cone of South America.

Uruguay's location between Argentina and Brazil makes close relations with these two larger neighbors and MERCOSUR associate members Chile and Bolivia particularly important.

A July 2006 estimate put the population of Uruguay at just under 3.5 million.

Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Assembly of Haiti.

Uruguayans enjoy "tango music," which evolved alongside the well-known tango dance.

Macumba and Umbanda, religions of Afro-Brazilian origin, are the currently fastest-growing religions in Uruguay.

Uruguayan territory was contested between the nascent states of Brazil and Argentina.

Uruguay is a member of the Rio Group, an association of Latin American states that deals with multilateral security issues (under the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance).

During the nineteenth century, Uruguayan painter Juan Manuel Blanes became well known for his depictions of historical events, and was the first Uruguayan to win widespread recognition.

Other Uruguayan dishes include morcilla dulce, a type of blood sausage cooked with ground orange peel and walnuts, and milanesa, a breaded veal cutlet.

World food prices dropped precipitously following the end of World War II, which triggered years of decline for the Uruguayan economy.

The Rнo Uruguay, which forms the border with Argentina, is flanked by low banks, and disastrous floods sometimes inundate large areas.

Uruguay's international relations also reflect its drive to seek export markets and foreign investment.

Brazil annexed the area in 1821 under the name of Provincia Cisplatina, but a revolt began in 1825, after which Uruguay became an independent country through the Treaty of Montevideo in 1828.

Both South American giants have periodically vied for control of Uruguay, and both have failed.

Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-driven agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, high levels of social spending, as well as a developed industrial sector.

Uruguay imports machinery, chemicals, road vehicles and crude petroleum from Brazil 21.3 percent, Argentina 20.3 percent, Russia eight percent, U.S. 6.7 percent, Venezuela 6.3 percent, China 6.2 percent, and Nigeria 5.9 percent.

Despite its small size, Uruguay has made significant contributions to the arts in Latin America.

The culture of Uruguay is rich, reflecting the amalgam between people of European, African and Indigenous origins dating back to the sixteenth century.

The Uruguayan economy relies largely on agricultural exports.

Uruguay is South America's most secular country with the distinction of being home to the highest percentage of atheists and non-religious people in Latin America.

Sponsored by the United Kingdom, the 1828 Treaty of Montevideo built the foundations for an Uruguayan state and constitution.

A major contributor to the slow population growth rate was Uruguay's low, and declining, crude birth rate.

Usually considered a neutral country and blessed with a professional diplomatic corps, Uruguay is often called on to preside over international bodies.

Interwoven into much of Uruguay’s folk music, art and drama is the gaucho, the nomadic, free-spirited horseman and cowhand who roamed the pampas from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century.

The most popular sport in Uruguay is soccer, and the country has earned many honors in that sport, including gold medals at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics and two World Cups.

Uruguay's population has grown slowly throughout its history, reaching the one million mark early in the twentieth century.

Uruguayans are known to eat a lot of meat.

Uruguay is distinguished by its high literacy rate (97.3 percent), large urban middle class, and relatively even income distribution.

Given the secularization of Uruguayan society at the beginning of the twentieth century, the influence of the Roman Catholic Church was minor.

Modern Uruguayan writers include Juan Carlos Onetti (author of No Man's Land and The Shipyard), novelist Mario Benedetti, social critic Eduardo Galeano, Mario Levrero and Jorge Majfud.

Juan Zorrilla de San Martнn (1855-1931) wrote epic poems about Uruguayan history.

Most Uruguayans baptize their children and marry in churches but less than half attend church on a regular basis.

Uruguay traditionally has had strong political and cultural links with its neighbors and with Europe.

Spanish is the official language of Uruguay and is spoken by almost all of the population.

Uruguay is a strong advocate of constitutional democracy, political pluralism, and individual liberties.

Uruguay’s greatest literary figure is the essayist Jose Enrique Rodo (1872-1917), who greatly influenced Latin American thought.

The two world wars brought prosperity as Uruguayan beef and grain went to feed a war-ravaged Europe.

The trend was aggravated as net immigration, which had characterized Uruguay in the early twentieth century, gave way to net emigration and the exodus in particular of young, well-educated Uruguayans.

Carved mate gourds, a traditional Uruguayan handicraft, often show scenes of gaucho life.

The original population of Charrъa Indians was gradually decimated over three centuries, culminating in 1831 in a mass killing at Salsipuedes, led by General Fructuoso Rivera, Uruguay's first president.

The name "Uruguay" comes from Guaranн the language, meaning "river of the painted birds."