page_title: Artigas Department
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Artigas Department / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Plantaciones en Bella Unión, norte de Uruguay. English: Plantations in Bella Unión, northern Uruguay.
context_page_description: Artigas Department is the northernmost department of Uruguay, located in its northwestern region. Its capital is the city of Artigas, which borders on the Brazilian city of Quaraí. Artigas Department has an area of 11,928 square kilometres, making it the fifth largest in the country. The population is 73,378 inhabitants, according to the 2011 census.
  It is bordered on the north and east by Brazil, from which it is separated by the Cuareim River. To the south, Artigas Department borders on Salto Department, and to the west is Argentina, from which it is separated by the Uruguay River. Artigas is the only Uruguayan department that borders two other countries.
  The department and its capital city are named after José Gervasio Artigas, leader of the Orientales during Uruguay's wars of independence.
context_section_description: The unique climatic conditions of Artigas has made possible the development of an important agro-industrial centre around the city of Bella Unión. Several crops are planted, namely fruits and vegetables, sugar cane, and rice. In the rest of the department, the main economic activity is livestock raising.
  Semi-precious gemstones, such as agates and amethysts, are also found in the department, and an entire industry has risen up around their extraction and manufacturing, especially near the capital city of Artigas.
  The proximity of the department to Brazil has made it possible for an important flow of trade to be established here, but unfortunately this is generally unfavorable to Uruguayan economic interests. Nevertheless, this partially compensates for the fact that the per capita income is the lowest of the country, and the percentage of households in poverty is the highest in the country (13.19% of the inhabitants).
caption: Plantations in Bella Unión, north of Artigas.
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