Departments of Uruguay facts for kids
Uruguay is a country in South America. It is divided into 19 main areas called departments. You can think of them like states or provinces in other countries.
Each department has its own leader, called an Intendant. This person is like a Governor and is chosen by the people every five years. The Intendant is in charge of running the department's public services and making sure things work well. There is also a group of people called the Departmental Council (Spanish: Junta Departamental) who help make decisions for the department.
Uruguay's Departments and Their Capitals
Each department in Uruguay has a main city, which is its capital. This is where the local government offices are located. The table below shows all 19 departments, their capital cities, and how many people live there. It also shows the size of each department and how many people live per square kilometer.
| Code | Department | Capital | Population (2011) |
Area (km²) |
Density (Inh./km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UY-AR | Artigas | Artigas | 73,378 | 11,928 | 6.2 |
| UY-CA | Canelones | Canelones | 520,187 | 4,536 | 114.7 |
| UY-CL | Cerro Largo | Melo | 84,698 | 13,648 | 6.2 |
| UY-CO | Colonia | Colonia del Sacramento | 123,203 | 6,106 | 20.2 |
| UY-DU | Durazno | Durazno | 57,088 | 11,643 | 4.9 |
| UY-FS | Flores | Trinidad | 25,050 | 5,144 | 4.9 |
| UY-FD | Florida | Florida | 67,048 | 10,417 | 6.4 |
| UY-LA | Lavalleja | Minas | 58,815 | 10,016 | 5.9 |
| UY-MA | Maldonado | Maldonado | 164,300 | 4,793 | 34.3 |
| UY-MO | Montevideo | Montevideo | 1,319,108 | 530 | 2,488.9 |
| UY-PA | Paysandú | Paysandú | 113,124 | 13,922 | 8.1 |
| UY-RN | Río Negro | Fray Bentos | 54,765 | 9,282 | 5.9 |
| UY-RV | Rivera | Rivera | 103,493 | 9,370 | 11.0 |
| UY-RO | Rocha | Rocha | 68,088 | 10,551 | 6.5 |
| UY-SA | Salto | Salto | 124,878 | 14,163 | 8.8 |
| UY-SJ | San José | San José de Mayo | 108,309 | 4,992 | 21.7 |
| UY-SO | Soriano | Mercedes | 82,595 | 9,008 | 9.2 |
| UY-TA | Tacuarembó | Tacuarembó | 90,053 | 15,438 | 5.8 |
| UY-TT | Treinta y Tres | Treinta y Tres | 48,134 | 9,676 | 5.0 |
More About Uruguay's Divisions
If you want to learn more about how Uruguay is divided, you can check out these links:
Learn More
You can also find this information in Spanish, made for kids, here: Anexo:Departamentos de Uruguay para niños
