19 interesting facts about Uruguay

19 interesting facts about Uruguay

A collection of interesting facts about Uruguay that we learned during our visit to the country

We didn’t spend long enough in Uruguay – not nearly long enough. By the end of our trip, time was short and we had just enough time to speed across the country, stopping in the charming town of Colonia del Sacramento and the country's eclectic capital, Montevideo.

We feel like we're not done with South America's underdogs yet, so we've vowed to return one day. The country is progressive, stable and cultivated - a breath of fresh air in South America.

Despite our short stay, we learned a lot of interesting facts about Uruguay. We share our favorites below.

Interesting facts about Uruguay

1. Der offizielle Name des Landes lautet República Oriental del Uruguay (Orientalische Republik Uruguay). (Quelle: BBC)
2. Der Name Uruguay kommt vom Uruguay-Fluss, was in der Guarani-Sprache „Fluss der bemalten Vögel“ bedeutet. Der Fluss entspringt in Brasilien und endet im Becken des Rio de la Plata, das die Wassergrenze zwischen Uruguay und Argentinien bildet. (Quelle: El Pais)

alt=“interesting facts about uruguay rio plata montevideo – 1″>Atlas & BootsView from Montevideo to the Río de la Plata

1. Uruguay ist das am wenigsten korrupte Land Lateinamerikas. Es steht in der Region an erster Stelle für Demokratie, Frieden, Korruptionsfreiheit, Lebensqualität, E-Government, Pressefreiheit, Größe der Mittelschicht, Wohlstand und Sicherheit … (Quelle: Transparency.org)

2. ...which is all the more impressive since the country was ruled by a military dictatorship until 1985. In 2009, General Gregorio Conrado Álvarez, the country's last dictator, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for 37 counts of murder and human rights violations. (Source: Telegraph)

3. More than half of the country's 3.3 million inhabitants live in the capital, Montevideo. (Source: CIA World Factbook)

alt="interesting facts about Uruguay Montevideo">Atlas & BootsThe built-up waterfront of Montevideo

1. Suriname ist das einzige Land in Südamerika, das kleiner ist als Uruguay. (Quelle: Weltatlas)

2. In Uruguay there are four to one more cows than people. It is a nation with 12 million cattle but only three million people (Source: BBC)

3. Forget the Andes. The highest point in Uruguay is Cerro Catedral at just 514 m (1,684 ft) above sea level. (Source: Summitpost)

4. Uruguay is the only country in Latin America that is completely outside the tropics. (Source: The Guardian)

alt=“Things to know about Uruguay Colonia del Sacremento 2″>Atlas & BootsThe country lies entirely in the temperate zone, so extreme temperatures are rare

1. Uruguays Nationalhymne, die mehr als fünf Minuten dauert, ist die längste Aufführungsdauer der Welt.(Quelle: Telegraph)

2. With only 46% Catholic population, Uruguay is one of the least religious countries in Latin America. (Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Uruguay)

3. Uruguay has renamed many of its traditional Catholic holidays. For example, Christmas is called family day and Holy Week is called tourism week.(Source:The Guardian)

4. The Uruguayans have won the World Cup twice. They were the first hosts and winners of the tournament in 1930 and won it again in 1950.(Source:Fifa)

alt=“Interesting facts about Uruguay, world champion in 1950″>Public domainUruguay's 1950 World Cup winner

1. Im Dezember 2013 legalisierte Uruguay als erstes Land der Welt die Produktion, den Verkauf und die Verwendung von Marihuana. (Quelle: BBC)

2. In 2009, Uruguay became the first country in the world to provide every school child with a free laptop and Wi-Fi access. (Source: BBC)

3. José “Pepe” Mujica, president of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, donates 90% of his income to charity, a habit that earned him the nickname “the poorest president in the world.” (Source: Al Jazeera)

alt="interesting facts about the poor president of Uruguay">Creative CommonsJosé “Pepe” Mujica was president from 2010-2015

1. In 2013, Uruguay was named Country of the Year by The Economist. (Source: The Economist)

2. Uruguay was the first nation in Latin America to establish a welfare state. (Source: BBC)

3. Uruguay has one of the highest adult literacy rates in the world at 98.7%. This is largely thanks to Uruguayans' access to free and compulsory education. (Source: CIA World Factbook)

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