Uruguay, on the east coast of South America south of Brazil and east of Argentina, is comparable in size to Oklahoma. The country consists of a low, rolling plain in the south and a low plateau in the north. It has a 120-mile (193 km) Atlantic shoreline, a 235-mile (378 km) frontage on the Rio de la Plata, and 270 mi (435 km) on the Uruguay River, its western boundary.
Population
3,431,932 (growth rate: 0.5%); birth rate: 13.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 11.6/1000; life expectancy: 76.3; density per sq mi: 51
Land Area
67,035 sq mi (173,621 sq km); total area: 68,039 sq mi (176,220 sq km)
Monetary unit
Uruguay peso Language
Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero
Ethnicity white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%
Religion Roman Catholic 66%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%
Transportation Railways: total: 2,073 km (2002). Highways: total: 8,983 km; paved: 8,081 km; unpaved: 902 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 1,600 km; used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft. Ports and harbors: Colonia, Fray Bentos, Juan La Caze, La Paloma, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Piriapolis. Airports: 64 (2002).
