World Factbook
Uruguay
República Oriental del Uruguay
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
98.6% (2024 est.)
female
99.2% (2024 est.)
total population
98.9% (2024 est.)
Languages
Languages
Spanish (official, Rioplatense is the most widely spoken dialect)
major-language sample(s)
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Roman Catholic 36.5%, Protestant 5% (Evangelical (non-specific) 4.6%, Adventist 0.2%, Protestant (non-specific) 0.3%), African American Cults/Umbanda 2.8%, Jehovah's Witness 0.6%, Church of Jesus Christ 0.2%, other 1%, Believer (not belonging to the church) 1.8%, agnostic 0.3%, atheist 1.3%, none 47.3%, unspecified 3.4% Roman Catholic 42%, Protestant 15%, other 6%, agnostic 3%, atheist 10%, unspecified 24% (2023 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.04 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.99 male(s)/female
total population
0.94 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.68 male(s)/female
Birth rate
9.05 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
9.88 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
34.9 years
total
37.4 years (2025 est.)
female
38.2 years
Population
male
1,678,419
total
3,449,444 (2025 est.)
female
1,771,025
Nationality
noun
Uruguayan(s)
adjective
Uruguayan
Tobacco use
male
21.3% (2025 est.)
total
18% (2025 est.)
female
14.9% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
95.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
18.9% (male 329,268/female 317,925)
15-64 years
65.4% (male 1,112,622/female 1,128,418)
65 years and over
15.7% (2024 est.) (male 218,242/female 318,855)
Ethnic groups
White 87.7%, Black 4.6%, Indigenous 2.4%, other 0.3%, none or unspecified 5% (2011 est.)
note: data represent primary ethnic identity
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
48.7 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
26.2 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
4.4 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
22.5 (2025 est.)
Physician density
4.67 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
9.4% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
20.9% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
0.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
2.5 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.27 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 95.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 4.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.3% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
4.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
15.6% national budget (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
9.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total
6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
6.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.06% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.62 (2025 est.)
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
Life expectancy at birth
male
75.8 years
female
82.1 years
total population
78.9 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
15 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.7% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
1.86 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
2.86 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
5.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.71 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.774 million MONTEVIDEO (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
27.9% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
55.4% (2023 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
1.8% (2018 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
16 years (2022 est.)
total
18 years (2022 est.)
female
19 years (2022 est.)