©Copyright MSCOMM
Photo: Ministerio de Turismo del Uruguay

Map

Follow Jacline

Food and Drink



As well as its fashionable summer resorts and tranquil beach towns, Uruguay is renowned for its colonial towns and fortresses, dotted all along its coast, starting by the beaches of Montevideo, Piriápolis, Punta del Este, jewel of the Atlantic Ocean. Continuing further east lie the tranquil resort towns of La Paloma...

Geography

Situated on the Atlantic coast between Argentina and Brazil
Area: 176,000 sq. km. (68,000 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than Oklahoma.
Terrain: Plains and low hills; 84% agricultural.
Climate: Temperate.

Uruguay is divided in 19 departments

  • Artigas
  • Canelones
  • Cerro Largo
  • Colonia
  • Durazno
  • Flores
  • Florida
  • Lavalleja
  • Maldonado
  • Montevideo
  • Paysandú
  • Río Negro
  • Rivera
  • Rocha
  • Salto
  • San José
  • Soriano
  • Tacuarembó
  • Treinta y Tres

General Information

Official Name
Oriental Republic of Uruguay

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: 1825.
Constitution: First 1830, current 1967, most recently amended December 1996.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state and head of government).
Legislative--General Assembly consisting of a 99-seat Chamber of Deputies and a 30-seat Senate. Judicial--Supreme Court of Justice.
Administrative subdivisions: 19 departments with limited autonomy.
Political parties/coalitions: Colorado Party, Blanco (National) Party, Encuentro Progresista-Frente Amplio, Nuevo Espacio.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Capital
Montevideo

Currency
Uruguayan peso (UYU)

Languages spoken
Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier). Uruguayans share a Spanish linguistic and cultural background, even though about one-quarter of the population is of Italian origin.

Climate
warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown



©Copyright 2002-2005 MSCOMM