Uruguay: country facts, travel advice and health

Buy long-distance bus tickets from every company online at terminal prices.Ride-hailing in Montevideo and Punta del Este.Navigation with good nationwide coverage and correct one-way streets.Offline maps showing camping spots that other users have tagged.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Cards or cash

Mostly cashMostly cards

Step 2 of 5: Cash pays for most things, though cards are accepted in some places.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Money in Uruguay

Uruguayan Peso · $ · UYU

Paying with a foreign credit card earns a discount at restaurants and some services.

Any Abitab branch breaks big notes into small ones for free.

Avoid changing euros at the airport, where rates sit about 20% below the interbank rate.

Peso prices use a U$ sign, so do not mistake them for US dollar prices.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Collect Uruguayan Peso in CointryOur sister app for coin and banknote collectors · cointry.appOpen

Public holidays in the next 12 months

Fri, 25 Dec 2026 · Christmas Day Día de la Familia

Fri, 1 Jan 2027 · New Year's Day Año Nuevo

Wed, 6 Jan 2027 · Children's Day Día de los Niños

Mon, 8 Feb 2027 · Carnival Carnaval

Tue, 9 Feb 2027 · Carnival Carnaval

Thu, 25 Mar 2027 · Maundy Thursday Semana de Turismo

Fri, 26 Mar 2027 · Good Friday Semana de Turismo

Mon, 19 Apr 2027 · Landing of the 33 Patriots Day Desembarco de los 33 Orientales

Sat, 1 May 2027 · International Workers' Day Día de los Trabajadores

Tue, 18 May 2027 · Battle of Las Piedras Batalla de las Piedras

Sat, 19 Jun 2027 · Birthday of José Gervasio Artigas and Never Again Day Natalicio de Artigas y Día del Nunca Más

Sun, 18 Jul 2027 · Constitution Day Jura de la Constitución

Wed, 25 Aug 2027 · Independence Day Día de la Independencia

Tue, 12 Oct 2027 · Day of the race Día de la Raza

Tue, 2 Nov 2027 · Deceased ones day Día de los Difuntos

Source: Nager.Date · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

02Free

Safety today

Germany, the US and the UK publish their travel advice openly. Here is what those that cover Uruguay say, side by side, checked daily.

German Foreign Office says

No travel warning

Calm ●

Caution

Serious

Don’t go

Source: Auswärtiges Amt
Updated 13 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

U.S. Department of State says

Exercise increased caution

Calm

Caution ●

Serious

Don’t go

Level 2 of 4

Source: travel.state.gov
Updated 27 Jul 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

UK Foreign Office says

No advice against travel

Source: GOV.UK
Updated 10 Dec 2025 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Countrywise is a summary. The official page is authoritative.

03Free

Health

Keep routine vaccinations up to date; Uruguay sets no special vaccine requirements for visitors.

Vaccinations

Keep routine vaccinations current; Uruguay sets no special vaccine requirements for visitors.

Talk to a travel clinic 4–8 weeks before you go.

Source: U.S. Department of State
Checked 25 Oct 2026Official page

Summarised from the CDC’s Travelers’ Health pages. Using them does not mean the CDC endorses Countrywise.

04Travel layer

In the app: the travel layer

The travel layer

Read a country like someone who’s been there.

What’s different from home, and what’s the lawMust-see places, free entry and World Heritage sites20 words to remember, with pronunciationStrange and surprising factsThe anthem and national symbolsSaved for offline use

€4.99once · all countries

Pay once. No subscription. All countries, yours forever.

Must-see · 1Montevideo

Home to a third of Uruguayans; grand buildings and beaches.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Strange & surprising · #1

Cattle outnumber Uruguayans by more than three to one, the highest such ratio anywhere.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

National anthem: National Anthem of Uruguay. The lyrics, translated, and the story are in the app. Source: Wikidata · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

3 World Heritage sites in Uruguay, each with a photo and its story, in the app. Source: UNESCO World Heritage List

05Free

Deep facts

Economy
GDP	≈ $85.3 billionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Per person	≈ $25,216Source: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Top exports	wood pulp, beef, milk, rice, wood (2023)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Population
Population	3.4 millionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Median age	37.4 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Life expectancy	78.9 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2024 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
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.)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · 2023 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Geography
Area	176,215 km²Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Climate	warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknownSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Terrain	mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowlandSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Government
Type of government	presidential republicSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Calling code	+598Source: libphonenumber · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

About the data

Written from the sources we link, and checked against them before each release. Countrywise summarises public sources. We are not an official source. For safety and entry rules, always follow the official page we link to.

From your foreign ministry when it publishes its advice openly (Germany, the US, the UK). Otherwise we show those three side by side. Checked daily, with the date next to every entry.

GOV.UK · 24 Oct 2026 ↗IANA Time Zone Database · 23 Oct 2026 ↗libphonenumber · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Nager.Date · 23 Oct 2026 ↗The World Factbook (archive) · 23 Oct 2026 ↗U.S. Department of State · 25 Oct 2026 ↗Unicode CLDR · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikidata · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikivoyage · 24 Oct 2026 ↗World Bank · 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Flag artwork from flag-icons (MIT licence).