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Full country name: República Oriental del Uruguay
Area: 187,000 sq km (72,930 sq mi)
Population: 3.3 million (census 2000)
Capital City: Montevideo (pop 1.5 million)
People: 95% European descent, 2% Black, 2% Mestizo
Language: Spanish (some English spoken)
Religion: 66% Roman Catholic,
2% Protestant and 2% Jewish
Government: Republic
President: Dr. Jorge Batlle Ibañez
(from march 2000 to march 2005)
Uruguay is a little country in south east South America, between Argentina, Brazil, the Rio de la Plata (River Plate) and the Atlantic Ocean. Uruguay may be pint-sized but it is certainly big-hearted when it comes to attractions. It contains one of South America´s most interestin capitals, charming colonial towns and a cluster of internationally renowned beach resorts.
Montevideo is the capital city and the most important of the country. With a population of 1.5 million, it holds almost one half of the 3.3 million inhabitants of the country. It is a cosmopolite city with many Parks, Museums, Theatres, Restaurants and Shopping Centres.
There is an important commercial Port in at Montevideo Harbour which concentrates an important merchandise trafic for the country and the region. This importance begins since its foundation in 1726 by the spanish Bruno Mauricio de Zabala. In those times it was the bastion in the region for spanish militar navy during the spanish colony.
Montevideo, together with Buenos Aires, is the place of birth of Tango.
Nowadays, Montevideo is being known as South America s Brussels, as it is the Administrative Capital of the South American Common Market - "MERCOSUR" - which Uruguay founded together with Argentina, Brazil snd Paraguay. Montevideo host also many other International Organizatios Headquarters such as the ALADI, the Latin American Association for Integration, the Americas Postal Union, etc.
Uruguay is an inmigrants country. The 95% of the population is from european background most from Italy and Spain, but also from France, the UK and Ireland, Germany and Switzerland.
Besides Montevideo, Uruguay has many other touristic attractions: fantastic beaches and international seaside resorts, such Punta del Este in the Atlantic Coast - the finest in
Latin America - ; a rich and beautiful countryside, where the main activity is intensive agriculture and cattle raising and colonial cities, such as Colonia del Sacramento, a former portughese settlement in the opposite shore of Buenos Aires, in the Rio de la Plata, nowadays a World Heritage City by UNESCO with a very intense cultural activity. Uruguay receives over 3 million tourists per year, almost one tourist per inhabitant, most of them from Argentina, who love coming to rest in the beaches, countryside and cities.
