Oriental Republic of Uruguay República Oriental del Uruguay (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Libertad o Muerte "Freedom or Death" | |
| Anthem: Himno Nacional de Uruguay "National Anthem of Uruguay" | |
| Sol de Mayo[1][2] (Sun of May)  | |
 Location of Uruguay (dark green) | |
| Capital and largest city | Montevideo 34°53′S 56°10′W / 34.883°S 56.167°W |
| Official language | |
| Ethnic groups (2011)[5] | |
| Religion (2021)[6] |
|
| Demonym(s) | Uruguayan |
| Government | Unitary presidential republic |
| Luis Lacalle Pou | |
| Beatriz Argimón | |
| Legislature | General Assembly |
| Senate | |
| Chamber of Representatives | |
| Independence from Brazil | |
• Declared | 25 August 1825 |
| 27 August 1828 | |
| 15 February 1967 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 176,215 km2 (68,037 sq mi)[7][8] (89th) |
• Water (%) | 1.5 |
| Population | |
• 2023 census | 3,444,263[8] (132nd) |
• Density | 19.5/km2 (50.5/sq mi) (206th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |  $107.946 billion[9] (98th) |
• Per capita | $30,170[9] (62nd) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
• Total | $82.605 billion[9] (77th) |
• Per capita | $23,088[9] (49th) |
| Gini (2022) |  40.6[10]medium inequality |
| HDI (2022) | 0.830[11] very high (52nd) |
| Currency | Uruguayan peso (UYU) |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (UYT) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
| Drives on | right |
| Calling code | +598 |
| ISO 3166 code | UY |
| Internet TLD | .uy |
Uruguay (/ˈjʊərəɡwaɪ/ [12] YOOR-ə-gwy, Spanish: [uɾuˈɣwaj] ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is part of the Southern Cone region of South America. Uruguay covers an area of approximately 176,215 square kilometres (68,037 sq mi).[8] It has a population of around 3.4 million, of whom nearly 2 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo.
The area that became Uruguay was first inhabited by groups of hunter-gatherers 13,000 years ago.[13] The predominant tribe at the moment of the arrival of Europeans was the Charrúa people. At the same time, there were also other tribes, such as the Guaraní and the Chaná, when the Portuguese first established Colonia do Sacramento in 1680; Uruguay was colonized by Europeans later than its neighboring countries.
The Spanish founded Montevideo as a military stronghold in the early 18th century due to competing claims over the region, while Uruguay won its independence between 1811 and 1828, following a four-way struggle between Portugal and Spain, and later Argentina and Brazil. It remained subject to foreign influence and intervention throughout the first half of the 19th century.[14] From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, numerous pioneering economic, labor, and social reforms were implemented, which led to the creation of a highly developed welfare state, which is why the country began to be known as "Switzerland of the Americas".[15] However, a series of economic crises and the fight against far-left urban guerrilla warfare in the late 1960s and early 1970s culminated in the 1973 coup d'état, which established a civic-military dictatorship until 1985.[16] Uruguay is today a democratic constitutional republic, with a president who serves as both head of state and head of government.
Uruguay is described as a "full democracy" and is highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, economic freedom, social progress, income equality, per capita income, innovation, and infrastructure.[17][18] The country has fully legalized cannabis (the first country in the world to do so), as well as same-sex marriage and abortion. It is a founding member of the United Nations, OAS, and Mercosur.
- ^ Crow, John A. (1992). The Epic of Latin America (4th ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-520-07723-2.
In the meantime, while the crowd assembled in the plaza continued to shout its demands at the cabildo, the sun suddenly broke through the overhanging clouds and clothed the scene in brilliant light. The people looked upward with one accord and took it as a favorable omen for their cause. This was the origin of the ″sun of May″ which has appeared in the center of the Argentine flag and on the Argentine coat of arms ever since.
- ^ Kopka, Deborah (2011). Central & South America. Dayton, OH: Lorenz Educational Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4291-2251-1.
The sun's features are those of Inti, the Incan sun god. The sun commemorates the appearance of the Sun through cloudy skies on May 25, 1810, during the first mass demonstration in favor of independence.
- ^ IMPO (25 July 2001). Personas con Discapacidad. Lengua de Señas Uruguaya [Disabled Persons. Uruguayan Sign Language – Law No. 17378] (Ley N° 17378) (in Spanish). El Senado y la Cámara Representantes de República Oriental del Uruguay reunidos en Asamblea General. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Meyers, Stephen; Lockwood, Elizabeth (6 December 2014). "The Tale of Two Civil Societies: Comparing disability rights movements in Nicaragua and Uruguay". Disability Studies Quarterly. 34 (4). doi:10.18061/dsq.v34i4.3845. ISSN 2159-8371. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2016). "Uruguay". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Encuesta Continua de Hogares (ECH) – Instituto Nacional de Estadística". Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- ^ "Uruguay". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 June 2023. (Archived 2011 edition.)
- ^ a b c "Población en Uruguay aumentó 1%: se contabiliza en 3.444.263 habitantes". Uruguay Presidencia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: April 2024". imf.org. International Monetary Fund.
- ^ "GINI index". World Bank. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ^ Wells, John C. (1990). Longman pronunciation dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 755. ISBN 0-582-05383-8. entry "Uruguay"
- ^ "Hace 13.000 años cazadores-recolectores exploraron y colonizaron planicie del río Cuareim" [13,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers explored and colonized the Cuareim River plain]. archivo.presidencia.gub.uy (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Jacob, Raúl; Weinstein, Martin (1992). "Modern Uruguay, 1875–1903: Militarism 1875–90". In Rex A. Hudson; Sandra W. Meditz (eds.). Uruguay: A Country Study (2nd ed.). Washington DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress Country Studies. pp. 17–19. ISBN 978-0-8444-0737-1. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
- ^ "URUGUAY A HAVEN FOR REFUGEE SUMS; Gold Flows to 'Switzerland of Americas' Since Korean War – Foreign Trade Booms". The New York Times. 3 January 1951. p. 75. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Back to Democracy in Uruguay". Washington Post. 27 December 2023 [November 30, 1984]. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Uruguay Rankings" (PDF). June 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017 – via Embassy of the United States of America.
- ^ "Spartacus Gay Travel Index" (PDF). spartacus.gayguide.travel. 29 February 2024. No. 8, p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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