Uruguay

Official nameOriental Republic of the Uruguay
Name in local languageRepública Oriental del Uruguay (es)
ContinentAmericas
SubcontinentSouth America
Population (ranking: 136e)3,530,912 inhabitants (2020)
Population growth0.37 % / year
Area175,016 km²
Density20.17 inhabitants / km²
GDP (ranking: 83e)59.597 billions $USD (2018)
GDP/capita (ranking)17,278 $USD (2018)
GDP growth1.60 % / year (2018)
Life expectancy (ranking)77.80 years (2018)
Birth rate13.10 ‰ (2017)
Fertility rate1.81 children / woman (2017)
Death rate (ranking)9.44 ‰ (2017)
Infant mortality rate (ranking)7.50 ‰ (2015)
Literacy rate98.49 % (2015)
Official languagesSpanish
CurrencyUruguayan peso (UYU)
HDI (ranking: 83e)0.808 / 1 (2018)
EPI (ranking)64.65 (2018)
GovernmentUnitary presidential constitutional republic
Head of StatePresident Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou
National Day25 August (declaration of independence of 1825)
ISO CodesUY, URY
DemonymUruguayan
Tourists (ranking)3,674,000 people (2017)
Uruguay – petite

Uruguay is a country in South America located in the south of Brazil and in the east of Argentina, from which it is separated by the Uruguay River which gave it its name. Uruguay is a small, sparsely populated country, “stuck” between the two giants.

Péninsule de Punta del Este, station balnéaire d'Uruguay
Punta del Este Peninsula, seaside resort of Uruguay
Plage Pocitos, Montevideo, Uruguay
Pocitos beach, Montevideo, Uruguay. Photo: Fedaro

The capital Montevideo gathers nearly 60% of the total population of the country, and the demographic weight of its urban area increases each year. This leaves little place for the rest of the country’s urban network, whose framework is poorly developed.

See all related maps or articles
Urban areas (2017)
Urban areasPopulation
Montevideo2,078,343 inhabitants
Salto-Concordia (Argentine)266,053 inhabitants
Rivera-Santana do Livramento (Brésil)147,789 inhabitants
Maldonado-Punta del Este135,399 inhabitants
Paysandú96,314 inhabitants
See all urban areas
Administrative divisions
DepartmentsPopulationArea
Artigas74,811 inhabitants11,928 km²
Canelones581,531 inhabitants4,536 km²
Cerro Largo89,558 inhabitants13,648 km²
Colonia130,009 inhabitants6,106 km²
Durazno58,995 inhabitants11,643 km²
Flores26,504 inhabitants5,144 km²
Florida69,313 inhabitants10,417 km²
Lavalleja59,161 inhabitants10,016 km²
Maldonado187,575 inhabitants4,793 km²
Montevideo1,381,228 inhabitants530 km²
Paysandú119,094 inhabitants13,922 km²
Río Negro57,644 inhabitants9,282 km²
Rivera108,319 inhabitants9,370 km²
Rocha73,999 inhabitants10,551 km²
Salto132,294 inhabitants14,163 km²
San José115,584 inhabitants4,992 km²
Soriano84,032 inhabitants9,008 km²
Tacuarembó93,039 inhabitants15,438 km²
Treinta y Tres50,516 inhabitants9,529 km²
See all administrative divisions
See also