Uruguayans share a Spanish linguistic and cultural background, even though about one-quarter of the population is of Italian origin. Most are nominally Roman Catholic, while others are Protestant or Jewish although the majority of Uruguayans do not actively practice a religion. Church and state are officially separated. Uruguay is distinguished by its high literacy rate, large urban middle class, and relatively even income distribution. The average Uruguayan standard of living compares favorably with that of most other Latin Americans. Metropolitan Montevideo, with about 1.4 million inhabitants, is the only large city. The rest of the urban population lives in about 20 towns. During the past two decades, an estimated 500,000 Uruguayans have emigrated, principally to Argentina and Spain. Emigration to the United States also rose recently. As a result of the low birth rate, high life expectancy, and relatively high rate of emigration of younger people, Uruguay's population is quite mature.

Population: 3,399,237 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 24% (male 417,288; female 397,125)
15-64 years: 63% (male 1,030,201; female 1,057,968)
65 years and over: 13% (male 178,393; female 253,099) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.51% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 14.44 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 9.07 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.24 years
male: 71.9 years
female: 78.75 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.96 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan

Ethnic groups: white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent

Religions: Roman Catholic 66% (less than one-half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, nonprofessing or other 30%

Languages: Spanish

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.3%
male: 96.9%
female: 97.7% (1995 est.)