The country name of Uruguay derives from the namesake Río Uruguay, from the Indigenous Guaraní language. There are several interpretations, including "bird-river" ("the river of the uru, via Charruan, urú being a See more

With 176,214 km (68,037 sq mi) of continental land and 142,199 km (54,903 sq mi) of jurisdictional water and small river islands, Uruguay is the second smallest sovereign … See more

In 1991, the country experienced an increase in strikes to obtain wage compensation to offset inflation and to oppose the … See more

Uruguayan culture is strongly European and its influences from southern Europe are particularly important. The tradition of the gaucho has been an important element in the art … See more

Pre-colonial
Uruguay was first inhabited around 13,000 years ago by hunter-gatherers. It is estimated that at the time of the first contact with Europeans in the 16th century there were about 9,000 Charrúa and 6,000 See more

Uruguay is a representative democratic republic with a presidential system. The members of government are elected for a five-year term by a universal suffrage system. Uruguay is a unitary state: justice, education, health, security, foreign policy and defense are all … See more

Uruguayans are of predominantly European origin, with over 87.7% of the population claiming European descent in the 2011 census. Most Uruguayans of European ancestry … See more