About

Population : approx: 3,500,000

Literacy rate : Females 98 percent: Males 97 percent

Ethnic divisions: European descent 88 percent : Mestizo 8 percent :African descent 4 percent

Life expectancy: Females 76 years: Males 69 years

Languages : Spanish

Religions : Roman Catholic 66 percent : Protestant 2 percent : Jewish 2 percent : Other or none 30 percent

Climate: Uruguay has a relatively mild climate. The temperature average for the warmest months, January and February, is 22°C (72°F), and for the coldest month, June, is 10°C (50°F). Rainfall is well distributed and averages about 890 millimeters (about 35 inches) a year. During the winter months, cold storms known as pamperos blow from the southwest, but frost is virtually unknown in most parts of the country

Capital City – Montevideo
Montevideo was founded by the Spanish governor of Buenos Aires in 1726 to secure the area against Portuguese infiltration from Brazil. Montevideo, is a spacious community with broad boulevards, and is the nation’s largest city and its principal economic, administrative, and cultural center. An impressive conical hill called El Cerro overlooks the city. Upon seeing this hill from his ship, a Portuguese explorer exclaimed, "I see a hill!"—in Portuguese, "Monte vide eu!"—thus giving the city its name. Other well-known landmarks include the mausoleum of José Gervasio Artigas, the Uruguayan national hero; the Cabildo, formerly the seat of the national legislature; and an ornate cathedral constructed between 1790 and 1804. In Montevideo are the National Historical Museum, the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Higher Studies, and the University of the Republic, built in 1849.