Uruguay - Administrative divisions, Geography

Official name Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Span República Oriental del Uruguay

Local name Uruguay Timezone GMT -3 Area 176 215 km²/68 018 sq mi population total (2002e) 3 383 000 Status Republic Date of independence 1828 Capital Montevideo Language Spanish (official) Ethnic groups European (mainly Spanish, Italian) (90%), mestizo (8%) Religions Roman Catholic (60%), Protestant (2%), Jewish (2%), unaffiliated (30%) Physical features Located in E South America; grass covered plains (S) rise to a high, sandy plateau, traversed SE and NW by the Cuchilla Grande and Cuchilla de Haedo, rising to 501 m/1644 ft at Cerro Mirados; R Negro flows SW to meet the R Uruguay on the Argentine frontier. Climate Temperate, with warm summers, mild winters; average annual temperature 10°C (Jul), 22°C (Jan) in Montevideo; average annual rainfall 978 mm/38 in; rainy season (Apr–May), occasional droughts. Currency 1 New Uruguayan Peso (UYU) = 100 centésimos Economy Traditionally based on livestock and agriculture; meat, wool, fish, wheat, barley, maize, rice; naturally-occurring minerals include granite and marble; hydroelectric power, food processing and packing, light engineering, cement, textiles, leather, steel. GDP (2002e) $26·82 bn, per capita $7900 Human Development Index (2002) 0·831 History Originally occupied by Charrúas Indians; visited by the Spanish, 1516; part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata, 1726; province of Brazil, 1814–25; independence as the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, 1828; unrest caused by Tupamaro guerrillas in late 1960s and early 1970s; military rule until 1985; a President is advised by a Council of Ministers; bicameral legislature consists of a Senate and Chamber of Deputies. text-align:center;">

Flag	Coat of Arms

Motto: Libertad o Muerte (Spanish for "Liberty or Death")
Anthem: Orientales, la Patria o la tumba
Capital (largest city)	Montevideo 34°53′S 56°10′W
Official language	Spanish
Government	Democratic Republic
- President	Tabaré Vázquez
Independence	from Brazil
- Water (%)	1.5
Population
- 2005 estimate	3,415,920 (128th)
- 2002 census	3,399,237
- Density	19/km² (156th) 50/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
- Total	$32,885 million (90th)
- Per capita	$9,619 (67th)
HDI  (2003)	0.840 (high) (46th)
Currency	Uruguayan Peso (UYU)
Time zone	UST (UTC-3)
- Summer (DST)	UDST (UTC-2)
Internet TLD	.uy
Calling code	+598

Uruguay, officially the Eastern Republic of Uruguay or the Republic East of the Uruguay (River) (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay;

Administrative divisions

Uruguay consists of 19 departments (departamentos, singular - ''departamento):

Department	Area (km²) 177 220	Population (2004)	Capital
Artigas	11,928	78,019	Artigas
Canelones	4,536	485,028	Canelones
Cerro Largo	13,648	86,564	Melo
Colonia	6,106	119,266	Colonia del Sacramento
Durazno	11,643	58,859	Durazno
Flores	5,144	25,104	Trinidad
Florida	10,417	68,181	Florida
Lavalleja	10,016	60,925	Minas
Maldonado	4,793	140,192	Maldonado
Montevideo	530	1,326,064	Montevideo
Paysandú	13,922	113,244	Paysandú
Río Negro	9,282	53,989	Fray Bentos
Rivera	9,370	104,921	Rivera
Rocha	10,551	69,937	Rocha
Salto	14,163	123,120	Salto
San José	4,992	103,104	San José de Mayo
Soriano	9,008	84,563	Mercedes
Tacuarembó	15,438	90,489	Tacuarembó
Treinta y Tres	9,676	49,318	Treinta y Tres

Geography

At 176.220 square kilometres, Uruguay is the second smallest sovereign nation in South America, after Suriname, and the third smallest political entity (French Guiana is the smallest).

Government resources

Find more information on Uruguay by searching Wikipedia's sister projects:

Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews

(Spanish) INE - National Statistics Institute (Spanish) MEF - Official site of the Uruguayan Ministry of Finance (Spanish) Poder Judicial - Official site of the Uruguayan Judiciary (Spanish) Poder Legislativo - Official site of the Uruguayan Parliament (Spanish) Portal del Estado Uruguayo - Uruguayan State portal (Spanish) Presidencia de la República Oriental del Uruguay - Official presidential site

General information

(Spanish) Uruguay Total - Uruguayan portal (Spanish) Portal Paysandu - Los inocentes de Siempre - Uruguayan portal (Spanish) Chihuahua Beach Nudist Beach in Maldonado Uruguay (Spanish)/(English) Uruguay.com - Uruguayan portal Open Directory Project - Uruguay directory category (multiple languages) (English) From Uruguay - Uruguayan blog (Spanish)/(German) Sociedad Alemana-Uruguaya - German Uruguayan society (Spanish)/(English)/(German) Wine Uruguay - Uruguayan Wine Guide (Spanish)/(English) Studio Stonek - Uruguayan photography studio and image bank Estancias - historic colonial architecture estates and cattle ranches in the Pampa (English) The Uruguay Page - a Uruguay metadirectory Uruguay cities satellite views Voter turnout, Gender quotas, Electoral system design and Political party financing in Uruguay

Media

Brecha - Brecha Magazine El Espectador - Montevideo radio station El Observador - Montevideo daily newspaper El País - Montevideo daily newspaper Espectador - First radio station in Uruguay Infolatam - Information and news of Uruguay La Guía - La Guía, comerce and news of Las Piedras, Canelones, Uruguay La República - Montevideo daily newspaper Montevideo.com - Montevideo news web site Radio Oceano - Montevideo radio station Radio Sarandí - Montevideo radio station

Travel and commerce

Sites recommended

Casapueblo museum

Resources

(Spanish)/(English)/(Portuguese) Ministerio de Turismo del Uruguay - Government tourism information site Uruguay travel guide from Wikitravel (Spanish)/(English) Uruguay XXI - Investment and Export Promotion Traveltouruguay.com - Touristic information and promotion (Spanish)/(German) PuntaOnline.com Real Estate Portal for Punta del Este Farm land and historic Estancias for sale in Uruguay

Sports

(Spanish) Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol - Uruguayan Football Association (Spanish) Federación Uruguaya de Basketball - Uruguayan Basketball Federation (Spanish) Unión de Rugby del Uruguay - Uruguayan Rugby Union (Spanish) Asociación Uruguaya de Golf - Uruguayan Golf Association Club Nacional de Football Club Atlético Peñarol v • d • e South American Community of Nations (SACN) Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Uruguay · Venezuela


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