30 Amazing Facts About Uruguay

The name of the country when translated means “river of painted birds”.
It is a small, heart-shaped country sandwiched between Argentina to the west and south and Brazil to the north. The Atlantic Ocean forms its eastern border.
The area of Uruguay is 176,215 square kilometers.
Uruguay is one of the most cultured countries in South America with its high literacy rate, refined manners, and high quality of life.
In English, the country name is unique in having the letter ‘U appear three times within the first five letters.
About 4 million people live in Uruguay.
Montevideo is the capital and also the chief port of the country with a population of 1.7 million. It is one of the largest capital in South America outside of Brazil.
Montevideo was originally founded in the eighteenth century as a military stronghold by the Spanish colonizers.
Uruguay has a coastline of about 500 kilometers, which offers some of the most beautiful and scenic beaches. Most of the good beaches are located on the Atlantic Ocean.
Uruguay has over 400 medicinal herbs.

Prior to colonization, the residents of Uruguay were the Charrua Indians. The Spanish entered Uruguay in search of gold and silver deposits.
A staggering 88% of the people are from European descendants mainly immigrants from Spain and Italy during the 19th and 20th centuries. In fact, Uruguay is the only European-style nation in all of South America.

The official language of Uruguay is Spanish.
The majority of people are Roman Catholic however there is no official religion in Uruguay.
The life expectancy at birth is 75.2 years which is the highest in South America.
Uruguay has one of the highest literary rates in the world hovering close to 98% of the population.
The word for Uruguayan cowboys in Spanish is Gauchos.
The national day is celebrated on August 25 as they gained their independence in 1825 on that day.
Dueling was legalized in 1920 in a bid by the Government to control the bloodshed. Amazingly it was legal until 1992. The limited amount of gunpowder that could be used and the fact that contests involving swords must be stopped at first blood prevented any further deaths until it was banned.

Jose Gervasio Artigas was an Uruguayan hero because of his strong stance in the independence war against brazil after Portugal annexed it to them. Uruguay gained its independence from Brazil in 1825.
When Uruguay established the first government after the civil war with Spain. It chose to become a constitutional republic modeled after the USA.
Uruguay readjusted the Electoral College in the country in 1999. This helped the country establish new governing rules for elected presidents.
There are two traditional national parties and branches in Uruguay the National (“Blanco”) and Colorado parties, which were founded in the early 19th century.
The Uruguayan flag has nine strips and sun in the upper left-hand corner with a human face.
Uruguay is rated as the least corrupt country in Latin America, along with Chile.
In 2009, Uruguay became the first nation in the world to provide every school child with a free laptop and wireless internet.

The official currency of Uruguay is the peso.
The largest of its exports is agricultural products as which constitutes 70% of current exports.
In Uruguay, there are 3 cows for every one person.

The leading sport in Uruguay is football. Uruguay held its first FIFA world cup in 1930 Uruguay which Uruguay won. Uruguay is the smallest country in the world in terms of population to win a FIFA cup.

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