World Factbook
Uruguay
República Oriental del Uruguay
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
175,015 sq km
water
1,200 sq km
total
176,215 sq km
Climate
warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown
Terrain
mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland
Land use
other
7.3% (2023 est.)
forest
11.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
81.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 12.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 68.6% (2023 est.)
Location
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil
Coastline
660 km
Elevation
lowest point
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point
Cerro Catedral 514 m
mean elevation
109 m
Irrigated land
2,230 sq km (2018)
Major aquifers
Guarani Aquifer System
Map references
South America
Land boundaries
total
1,591 km
border countries
Argentina 541 km; Brazil 1,050 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or the edge of continental margin
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts
Geography - note
second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep
Natural resources
arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fish
Area - comparative
about the size of Virginia and West Virginia combined; slightly smaller than the state of Washington
Geographic coordinates
33 00 S, 56 00 W
Population distribution
most of the country's population resides in the southern half of the country; approximately 80% of the populace is urban; nearly half of the population lives in and around the capital of Montevideo
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Lagoa Mirim (shared with Brazil) - 2,970 sq km
Major rivers (by length in km)
Rio de la Plata/Parana river mouth (shared with Brazil [s], Argentina, Paraguay) - 4,880 km; Uruguay river mouth (shared with Brazil [s] and Argentina) - 1,610 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth