page_title: Uruguay
section_title: Administrative divisions
hierarchical_section_title: Uruguay / Government / Administrative divisions
context_page_description: Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in the southeastern region of South America. It borders Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and east, with the Río de la Plata to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. Uruguay is home to an estimated 3.51 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometers, Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America, after Suriname.
  Uruguay was inhabited by the Charrúa people for approximately 4,000 years before the Portuguese established Colónia do Sacramento in 1680; Uruguay was colonized by Europeans relatively late compared with neighboring countries. Montevideo was founded as a military stronghold by the Spanish in the early 18th century, signifying the competing claims over the region. Uruguay won its independence between 1811 and 1828, following a four-way struggle between Portugal and Spain, and later Argentina and Brazil.
context_section_description: Uruguay is divided into 19 departments whose local administrations replicate the division of the executive and legislative powers. Each department elects its own authorities through a universal suffrage system. The departmental executive authority resides in a superintendent and the legislative authority in a departmental board.
  Note: 
  "Doesn't include the 1,199 km² (463 sq mi) artificial lakes on the Rio Negro" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
caption: A map of the departments of Uruguay
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