Uruguay felt like a chill country. Maybe that is because they were the first country in the world to legalize the production, sale, and use of marijuana. No, we didn’t try any of the goods. It’s only legal to sell to registered Uruguayans over eighteen.
It could be the rampant addiction to maté. Much like in Argentina, everyone walked around with a maté bag. Maté is a caffeine-rich herbal drink.
The entire country of Uruguay doesn’t even fill the state of Colorado if it were superimposed over it. The population is just under 3.5 million, the same population as the state of Connecticut.
Maybe part of the calm was our knowledge that Uruguay is the least corrupt country in Latin America. It is ranked first in the region for democracy, peace, lack of corruption, quality of living, e-government, freedom of the press, size of the middle class, prosperity, and security. (Source: Transparency.org)
We splurged for a good steak while visiting Montevideo as the cattle population of Uruguay is 12 million outnumbering people 4 to 1! (Source: BBC)
Uruguay has one of the world’s highest literacy rates — 98.1% for adults. This is largely thanks to Uruguayans’ access to free and compulsory education. (Source: CIA World Factbook)
“There are more sheep in Uruguay than humans! In 2005, Uruguay had 9,712,000 sheep, which was the second highest in South America after Brazil.” (from the Fact file)
Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina are the only countries in South America that provide their entire population with access to clean water. (Source: COA.Org)
The corruption perception of Uruguay ranked it as the country with the lowest public corruption in South America. It ranked among the top 16 countries in the world with the lowest corruption. (Source: Transparency.org)
Native animals appear on the currency in Uruguay, including the capybara, the rhea, the puma and a type of armadillo called the “mulita.” (not pictured below)
Instead of numbers, Uruguayans name their homes. I would hate to be a postal worker there (but they are not the only country to do this).
“The name “Uruguay” comes from the Guaraní language, meaning “river of the painted birds.” (Source: New World Encyclopedia)
Peltophorum dubium, commonly known as the Artigas Tree, is the symbol of Uruguay.
Those were beautiful pictures of the country. Thanks for sharing a bit of information about this country as not much is known (at least by me).
There are a lot of places I know little about. Traveling has helped me learn. 🙂