Uruguay Statistics

Capital:  Montevideo

Area:  176,215 km ²

Climate:  subtropical; the weather changes rapidly day by day due to the absence of nearby mountains to block weather fronts, but generally quite humid

Population:  3,494,382 (est. 2009)

Languages:  Spanish

Government-EconomyGovernment Type: Presidential republic

GDP: $48.140 billion (est. 2010) GDP – per capita (PPP): $14,342 (est. 2010)

Information for Foreign Students in UruguayGetting There Pluna (the Uruguayan carrier) and Iberia have connecting flights from São Paulo, Asunción, Santiago de Chile and Madrid. There are other companies that also have flights to Montevideo. American Airlines has a non-stop flight from Miami to Montevideo. The flight is 4 times a week and runs all year round, the other three days it connects via Buenos Aires (EZE). Most long haul flights from Montevideo stop in Buenos Aires, Santiago, or São Paulo before going on. Iberia, the Spanish airline also provides very regular flights between Europe and Uruguay, and LAN connects to Australia and New Zealand via Chile.

Obtaining a Visa Student visas are delivered in Uruguay. However, students must obtain proof of acceptance from the educational institution before arrival in the country. Please contact your local Uruguayan embassy for details.

Money Currency used in Uruguay is the peso. Prices are often shown using the U$ symbol which can easily be confused for the US Dollar symbol.

Health
Tap water is safe to drink in all major cities. The Hospital Britanico (British Hospital), SUMMUM and BlueCross & BlueShield Uruguay have European-quality service and they are clean and efficient. Asociación Española, Medica Uruguaya and CASMU are the largest healthcare companies in Uruguay and they are also of very high quality.

Safety Precautions should be taken. Montevideo provides the highest opportunity for a run-in with pickpockets. However, Uruguay is the most secure country in the region.

TransportationUruguay has an extensive internal bus system. Non-local / departmental buses leave from the Tres Cruces station which also serves the international buses. The buses are frequent, safe and comfortable, and many companies serve the same routes. Taxis in Uruguay are safe and fairly affordable, costing about $2 USD per km. All taxis in Uruguay use meters and have fixed costs.