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URUGUAY
BasicFacts• Area:68,037Sq.Mi.• Popula7on:3,324,000• Popula7onGrowth:0.3%• Government:Cons7tu7onalRepublic• CurrentPresident:TabaréVázquez• Demonym:Uruguayan• UrbanPopula7on:92%• LifeExpectancy:77Years• LiteracyRate:98%• Religions:RomanCatholic• OfficialLanguage:Spanish• Currency:PesoUruguayo(UYU)• GDPpercapita:$16,200• GDPGrowth:3.8%
Land• UruguaybordersBraziltothenorthandnortheast.
• Argen7naandtheUruguayrivertothewest.• TheRiodelaPlatatothesouth,andtheAtlan7coceantotheeastandsoutheast.
• Hillsandplainscovermostoftheland.• ThelargestriversysteminUruguayistheRíoNegro.AdamonthisrivercreatedtheEmbalsedelRíoNegro,thelargestlakeinthecountry.
PlantsandAnimals
• TallprairiegrassescovermostofUruguay,andthecountryhasfewforests.
• Na7veanimalsincludefoxes,deer,wildcats,andlargerodentscalledcapybaras.
• SixspeciesofarmadillosliveinUruguay• Caimans,whicharesimilartoalligators,liveintheUruguayRiver.
• Uruguay’sbirdsincludevultures,parakeets&flamingos.
People
• MostUruguayansaredescendedfromEuropeanimmigrantswhoarrivedinthecountryaeer1870,mainlyfromSpainandItalybutalsofromEnglandandFrance.
• Lessthan10percentofthepopula7onisofmixedIndianandEuropeandescent.
• Blacks,thedescendantsofAfricansslaves,makeuproughly5percentofthepopula7on.
People• TheofficiallanguageisSpanish.– IntheareasborderingBrazil,someofthepeoplespeakaslangcalledportuñol,amixtureofPortuguese(português)andSpanish(español).
• Uruguayhasnoofficialstatereligion,butmostUruguayansareRomanCatholics.• Morethan50percentofthepopula7onlivesinMontevideo
ResourcesAgriculture• ArableLand• Hydropower• MinorMaterials• Fish
• Soybeans• Rice• Wheat• Beef• DairyProducts• Fish• Lumber• Cellulose
Economy
GDPComparison
GDPComparisonofUruguay
Services70.3%
Industry21.6%
Agriculture8.2%
IndustryMajorExports• FoodProcessing• ElectricalMachinery• Transporta7onEquipment• PetroleumProducts• Tex7les• Chemicals• Beverages
• **Beef• Soybeans• Cellulose• Rice• Wheat• Wood• DairyProducts• Wool
EarlyHistory• UnlikemanypartsofSouthAmerica,Uruguaywassparsely
populatedun7ltheEuropeansarrive• OnlyasmallgroupknownastheCharrúalivedintheUruguay
regionpriortothe1600s.• 1516:TheSpanisharrived–butdidnotsenle-Bandsofgauchos,
orSpanishcowboys,huntedthewildcanleintheregion– TheSpanishcalledtheareatheBandaOrientaldelUruguay.Thenamemeans“eastbankoftheUruguayRiver..
• 1680:PortuguesesetupfirsttowntownintheBandaOriental.• 1726:TheSpanishfoundedthecityofMontevideoandanacked
thePortuguese• 1770s:TheSpanishhaddrivenoutthePortuguese.• 1810Spain’sAmericancoloniesbeganfigh7ngforindependence.
PeopleintheBandaOrientaldefeatedtheSpanish.However,BrazilsoontookovertheBandaOriental.
• 1828:AeeryearsofwartheBandaOrientalfinallywonindependence,callingthenewcountryUruguay.
ModernHistory
• Early1900s:Uruguaybecameastabledemocracy• 1960s:aterroristgroupcalledtheTupamarosanemptedto
overthrowthegovernment.• 1973Themilitarytookcontrolofthegovernmentanddefeated
theTupamaros,butitalsoruledveryharshly. – -Themilitarygovernmentjailed,tortured,orkilledmanypeoplewho
disagreedwithit.
• 1985:Ademocra7cgovernmentfinallyreplacedthemilitaryleaders.
• 1991:UruguayjoinedtheSouthernCommonMarket(MercadoComúndelSur,orMERCOSUR)anditseconomyandtradegrew.
• 1830s–1900s:CivilwarstartedinUruguaysoonaeerindependenceandcon7nuedforabout70years.
FunFacts• InUruguay,cowsoutnumberpeoplefourtoone.
• UruguayistheonlycountryinLa7nAmericawhichisen7relyoutsideofthetropics.
• Uruguayhosted–andwon–thefirstFIFAWorldCup.
• Uruguay’sna7onalanthem,whichlastsmorethanfiveminutes,istheworld’slongestinperformancedura7on.
• In2009,Uruguaybecamethefirstcountryintheworldtoprovideeveryschoolchildwithafreelaptopandwifiaccess.