Uruguay is a small country located in South America. The official name of Uruguay is Oriental Republican of Uruguay.  The capital of Uruguay is Montevideo.  Uruguay's relative location is west of Argentina, east of Brazil, south of the Atlantic Ocean and Rio De La Plata.  Uruguay is located 57 degrees west longitude and 34 degrees south latitude.  Uruguay has one of the largest populations in South America.  The population is 3.1 million.  Uruguay no longer has any indigenous people left in their population.  88 percent of the population are decent settlers. 66 percent of the population is Roman Catholic.  2 percent of the population is Protestants. 2 percent of the population is Jewish.  

Language

 The main language spoken in Uruguay is Spanish.  Even though they speak Spanish, they have an Italian accent.  The reason why they have an Italian accent is because when the Italian settlers passing through the country, they learned Spanish.  But the Italian settlers spoke Spanish with an Italian accent.  Cocoliche was the first version of Spanish spoken by the Italian when they were learning.         

  Religion

The main religion in Uruguay is Roman Catholic.  Other religions in the country is Protestant and Judaism.  The majority of the population is Roman Catholic, they are not very religious.  Religion is not a big part of their culture because when Spain sent out priests to convert Indians to become Catholics, Uruguay did not have many Indians.  So they were not very influenced.  When Uruguay became free they decided that Catholicism was their official religion, but also decided on religious freedom.  Uruguay does not have a religion that was practiced by their indigenous people because Uruguay doesn't have any  indigenous people left.  When children are young they are baptized, this is where the parents chose godparents who usually pay for school and help then through life. Most of the time if the parents are middle-class or lower they will usually choose wealthy godparents to help them.  Some religious holidays are Christmas, which is called Family day and La Semana Criolla, which is Easter.   

Government

Uruguay is republic.  The president is head of state and the vice-president helps the president.  There is also a council with twelve members, who are chosen by the president.  The president has a five year term.  There are thirty members chosen for senate, ninety-nine representatives, and nineteen departments where each are chosen a governor.  Most decisions are made by the the national government.

  In Uruguay, people do a lot of fun things for entertainment!  One of the main attractions at Uruguay are the beaches.  The people who live in Uruguay love annual carnivals.  Some carnivals are La Semana Criolla.  For hobbies, people in Uruguay enjoy doing water sports, like fishing, yachting, boating.  For leisure they like going to sandy beaches, taking thermal baths, short walks, dune walking, and etc.   Soccer is a favorite sport in Uruguay, boys from the country excel at it.   Some important holidays are Family Day (Christmas) and Semana Criolla (Easter).

Food

Meat is a very popular food in Uruguay. Parrillada is a barbecue. Chivito is a steak sandwich. Some fast food meat is panchos which are hot dogs.  A type of meat stew is estofado  A typical snack is olAmpicos, and haongaros.  A type of fruit is called butia palm  A very popular drink is tea which they call mate. You can see many people carrying thermoses of hot water to make mate anytime.  Wine and beer is also very popular.  A typical family meal is chicken, potatoes, bread and salad.    

Clothing 

The traditional dress in Uruguay is a a cowboy heritage.  Their dress is very similar to European dress.  Also their dress code are similar to ours, but more formal.   Women usually wear skirts or dresses instead of pants.  During school there is not a dress code or a uniform, but the children must wear smocks over clothing.  They do this because it makes children feel equal rich or poor.   In Uruguay the people try hard to preserve their traditional dress.