Oriental Republic of Uruguay
The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is named after its geographic location to the east of the Uruguay River. This geographical reason as well as historical reasons caused the Uruguayans to be called 'Orientals', even if, obviously, Uruguay is situated in the Western Hemisphere. As for the word 'Uruguay', it comes form the Guarani language, meaning 'river where the birds live'.
Geographical Location
The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is located in South America. Its eastern coast is on the Atlantic Ocean, between parallels 30º and 35° of South latitude and meridians 53°and 58° West longitude. It is thus located in the temperate area of the Southern Hemisphere, with sea predominance.

Borders
Uruguay is bounded in the North by the Federal Republic of Brazil; by the West by the Republic of Argentina, by the Uruguay River; by the South by the Río de la Plata and by the East by the Atlantic Ocean. Uruguay enjoys a privileged strategic position in the Southern Cone of the continent which substantially favors its regional integration policy: on the one hand as a way in and out for the countries of the River Plate basin, the second largest in the world and on the other hand, as a bridge between its two big neighboring countries: Argentina and Brazil, which are the two main economic centers of the region.

Its coast on the Atlantic Ocean ensure easy communication with the rest of the world, connecting it to the developed countries both in the economic and cultural aspect.

Coasts
The Uruguayan coast covers an extension of 450 Km of coasts along the River Plate and 220 Km of marine coasts along the Atlantic Ocean. This generates a long chain of sandy beaches of great tourist interest due to their beauty.

Political map
The Uruguayan territory is divided in 19 departments. Its capital is Montevideo,

Climate
Uruguay’s location in the Austral Temperate Zone of the Southern Hemisphere gives it a mild climate. The average temperature in Spring is 17°C; in Autumn 18° and in Winter 12°. The extreme temperatures reach, as an exception, 40° in the Summer and 2° or 3° below zero in Winter. There are many sunny days in the year but the sudden changes in the weather are quite frequent..

Population
The population of Uruguay is of European origin, basically Spanish and Italian but there are other nationalities, due to the country’s open doors policy. There is also a small presence of the black race which arrived to our country from the coasts of Africa at the times of the Spanish domination. Regarding the indigenous population, the last remaining Indians disappeared from our national territory more than one century ago, this meaning a great difference between the Uruguayan population and the population of the rest of the Latin American countries.

The last population census determined the population in Uruguay is 2.940.300 inhabitants. This, translated into the number of people per square kilometer, says our country has a low density. However, even if Uruguay is an agricultural country, its population is essentially urban (80%) and 43% is concentrated in Montevideo. Its birth rate is low, the lowest in Latin America but the life expectation is very high: 72 years for men and 74 for women, showing the high sanity and nutrition standards.

The Uruguayan people enjoy a high cultural level, they are open and solicitous to the visitors, of simple and familiar habits, lovers of life in the open air and of sports, mainly football, the national sport and the national passion. Regarding the taste in food, the famous "churrasco" (beef steak) and “asado con cuero” (grilled beef with the skin) of excellent Uruguayan beef are the favorites.

Government
Uruguay has adopted the democratic republican form of government under a presidential system, dividing the State in the classical three powers: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. According to the present Constitution, the Uruguayan people, lover of liberty and democracy, chooses the authorities that shall rule the country.

Religion
The Uruguayan Constitution guarantees the religious freedom, hence, there are many religions in the country. However, the Catholic religion has been present all through the country’s history and is predominant in the population.