The Oriental Republic of Uruguay (the conventional full
name of this country) is located in southern South
America. It is bordered by the South Atlantic Ocean, Brazil,
and Argentina.
It has a total area of 176,220 square kilometers, and
is comparable in size to the state of Washington. It
is the second smallest independent country in South America,
after Suriname.
Uruguay secured its independence from Brazil in 1828. It had previously been claimed by Argentina. Its capital, Montevideo, was founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military fortress, but it later became a commercial center as well. It is a constitutional republic, having a President and Council of Ministers (Executive Branch), a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly (Legislative Branch), and a Supreme Court whose members are nominated by the President (Judicial Branch).
Uruguay has a total population of 3,460,607 (July 2007 estimated). The majority of the population is white (88 percent) of European ancestry, the remainder being mestizo (mixed European and indigenous Amerindian ancestry) (8 percent), black (4 percent), and Amerindian (trace). It has the smallest number of native ancestry inhabitants of any South American country.
The official language is Spanish. Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix) are also spoken.
The majority of the population is nominally Roman Catholic (66 percent), though less than half of that total attends church regularly. Of the remainder of the population, 2 percent are Protestant, 1 percent is Jewish, and 31 percent are non-professing or other.
The largest industry of Uruguay is agriculture.
The currency is the Uruguayan peso.
Uruguay is famous for its barbecue (asado) and for dulce de leche, a sweet paste used to fill pastries. It is also known for the gaucho life (estancias) and for the tango. Its greatest national festival celebrates Carnival.
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