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Uruguay

The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is situated in the southeast region of South America. This small country has an area of 74,655 square miles (193,356 square kilometers) and a population estimated to be 3,556,000 people in 2022. The capital city is Montevideo and most of the inhabitants are of European descent, mainly Spanish and Italian, with a minority of mestizos or those of African-European descent. Few Indigenous people remain.

The official language spoken in Uruguay is Spanish. Christianity, mostly Roman Catholic, is the predominant religion, although other Christian denominations and Judaism are also practiced. The currency used is the Uruguayan peso. The terrain consists mostly of low plateaus and hilly regions, while the Negro River and the Uruguay River run through the country.

Uruguay has a limited amount of mineral and energy resources but there is an abundance of pastures, covering almost four-fifths of the land area, which are used for raising livestock for meat, leather, and wool production. Agriculture plays an important role in the economy as well, with some of the main crops being rice, sugarcane, oranges, wheat, and corn. Other industries include fishing, tourism, and the manufacture of textiles and chemicals.

The government of Uruguay is a republic that has two legislative houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The president is both the head of state and the head of government.

The people of Uruguay enjoy a high quality of life with a life expectancy at birth of 74.4 years for men and 81 years for women. The literacy rate is also high, with 98% of males and 99% of females aged 15 and over able to read and write. The Gross National Income per capita is $15,830.