Uruguay

Uruguay (officially named Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country in South America. The language spoken there is Spanish. Its capital and largest city is Montevideo. Uruguay is bordered by two large neighbors, Brazil and Argentina. The only country in South America that is smaller than Uruguay is Suriname. The land is mostly flat, and there are many farms in the countryside. 

The area around Uruguay was fought over by the Portuguese and Spanish Empires in the 18th century. In the 1810s it was the center of the Banda Oriental, a Federal League of states in the Río de la Plata region. Argentina and Brazil took the majority in wars, leaving Uruguay as independent.

 History 
Before Europeans came to the land, no more than 10 thousand native people lived here. Spanish explorer Juan Díaz de Solís first explored the land in 1516.

Departments

Uruguay is divided into 19 different Departments.

 Department  Capital  Area  Population (2011 census)Artigas  Artigas    Canelones  Canelones    Cerro Largo  Melo    Colonia  Colonia del Sacramento    Durazno  Durazno    Flores  Trinidad    Florida  Florida    Lavalleja  Minas    Maldonado  Maldonado    Montevideo  Montevideo    Paysandú  Paysandú    Río Negro  Fray Bentos    Rivera  Rivera    Rocha  Rocha    Salto  Salto   San José  San José de Mayo    Soriano  Mercedes    Tacuarembó  Tacuarembó    Treinta y Tres  Treinta y Tres     Total¹  —    
¹Doesn't include the artificial lakes on the Rio Negro (1,199 km²).

Geography
The highest point in the country is the Cerro Catedral whose peak reaches to .

Uruguay has 660 km of coastline.

There are nine National Parks in Uruguay. Five in the wetland areas of the east, three in the central hill country and one in the west along the Rio Uruguay.
 2nd smallest country on continent
 South America
 Sandy beaches near Montevideo
 In the north, a series of low mountains run north into the highlands of Brazil
 176,220 square kilometers
 Mostly hills
 A lot of water rich lands
 Near Brazil and Argentina

Economy
Agriculture
According to FAOSTAT, Uruguay is one of world's largest producers of: soybeans (9th); greasy wool (12th); horse meat (14th); beeswax (14th); quinces (17th); natural honey (19th); cattle meat (20th). On December 20, 2013, Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize the cultivation, sale, and use of cannabis.

Demographics
Colour/Race (self-reported, 2008) White  95.4% Black/African 3.4% Indigenous 1.1% Asian/Amarillo0.1%
Uruguayans are mostly of European origin. 88%, or 88 of 100 people, are from European descent.

Sports
Football is the most popular sport in Uruguay. The Uruguay national football team has won the FIFA World Cup on two occasions.

References

 Official Websites 
 Uruguay Official Portal 
 Uruguay Official Presidency Website 


Category:Spanish-speaking countries
Category:1825 establishments in South America