Uruguay Geography - 2021

Location

Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil

Geographic coordinates

33 00 S, 56 00 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 176,215 sq km

land: 175,015 sq km

water: 1,200 sq km

Area - comparative

about the size of Virginia and West Virginia combined; slightly smaller than the state of Washington

Land boundaries

total: 1,591 km

border countries (2): Argentina 541 km, Brazil 1050 km

Coastline

660 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin

Climate

warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown

Terrain

mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland

Elevation

highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 109 m

Natural resources

arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fish

Land use

agricultural land: 87.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 10.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 76.9% (2018 est.)

forest: 10.2% (2018 est.)

other: 2.6% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

2,380 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

172.2 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

most of the country's population resides in the southern half of the country; approximately 80% of the populace is urban, living in towns or cities; nearly half of the population lives in and around the capital of Montevideo

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

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation

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 raising