| Department Departamento (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
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| Category | Unitary state |
| Location | Oriental Republic of Uruguay |
| Number | 19 departments |
| Subdivisions | |
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 Uruguayportal |
Uruguay consists of 19 departments (departamentos). Each department has a legislature called a Departmental Board. The Intendente is the department's chief executive.
The first division of the Republic into six departments occurred on 27 January 1816. In February of the same year, two more departments were formed, and in 1828 one more was added. When the First Constitution was signed in 1830, there were nine departments. These were the departments of Montevideo, Maldonado, Canelones, San José, Colonia, Soriano, Paysandú, Durazno and Cerro Largo. At that time, the department of Paysandú occupied all the territory north of the Río Negro, which included the current departments of Artigas, Rivera, Tacuarembó, Salto, Paysandú and Río Negro.
On 17 June 1837 a new division of Uruguay was made and this northern territory was divided in three parts by the creation of the departments of Salto and Tacuarembó. At the same time the department of Minas (which was eventually renamed to Lavalleja) was created out of parts of Cerro Largo and Maldonado. Then in 1856 the department of Florida was created and on 7 July 1880 the department of Río Negro was split from Paysandú and the department of Rocha was split from Maldonado. In 1884 the department of Treinta y Tres was formed from parts of Cerro Largo and Minas, while also the department of Artigas was split from Salto, and in the same year the department of Rivera was split from Tacuarembó. Finally in the end of 1885 the department of Flores was split from San José.
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| Series of maps showing the gradual formation of the actual 19 departments of Uruguay. | ||||
| Flag or COA | Department | ISO 3166-2 code | Formation | Area (km2) | Population (2011) [1] | Density (/km2) | Capital | Capital population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Artigas | UY-AR | 1884 (from Salto) | 11,928 | 73,378 | 6.15 | Artigas | 40,658 |
 | Canelones | UY-CA | 1816 (as Villa de Guadalupe) | 4,536 | 520,187 | 114.68 | Canelones | 19,865 |
 | Cerro Largo | UY-CL | 1821 | 13,648 | 84,698 | 6.21 | Melo | 53,245 |
 | Colonia | UY-CO | 1816 | 6,106 | 123,203 | 20.18 | Colonia del Sacramento | 26,231 |
 | Durazno | UY-DU | 1822 (as Entre Ríos Yí y Negro) | 11,643 | 57,088 | 4.90 | Durazno | 34,372 |
 | Flores | UY-FS | 1885 (from San José) | 5,144 | 25,050 | 4.87 | Trinidad | 21,429 |
 | Florida | UY-FD | 1856 (from San José) | 10,417 | 67,048 | 6.44 | Florida | 33,640 |
 | Lavalleja | UY-LA | 1837 (as Minas) | 10,016 | 58,815 | 5.87 | Minas | 45,638 |
 | Maldonado | UY-MA | 1816 (as San Fernando de Maldonado) | 4,793 | 164,300 | 34.28 | Maldonado | 62,592 |
 | Montevideo | UY-MO | 1816 | 530 | 1,319,108 | 2,489 | Montevideo | 1,319,108 |
 | Paysandú | UY-PA | 1820 | 13,922 | 113,124 | 8.13 | Paysandú | 76,429 |
 | Río Negro | UY-RN | 1868 (from Paysandú) | 9,282 | 54,765 | 5.90 | Fray Bentos | 24,406 |
 | Rivera | UY-RV | 1884 (as Tacuarembó) | 9,370 | 103,493 | 11.04 | Rivera | 64,465 |
 | Rocha | UY-RO | 1880 (from Maldonado) | 10,551 | 68,088 | 6.45 | Rocha | 25,422 |
 | Salto | UY-SA | 1837 (from Paysandú) | 14,163 | 124,878 | 8.82 | Salto | 104,028 |
 | San José | UY-SJ | 1816 | 4,992 | 108,309 | 21.70 | San José de Mayo | 36,747 |
 | Soriano | UY-SO | 1816 (as Santo Domingo Soriano) | 9,008 | 82,595 | 9.17 | Mercedes | 41,975 |
 | Tacuarembó | UY-TA | 1837 (from Paysandú) | 15,438 | 90,053 | 5.83 | Tacuarembó | 54,757 |
 | Treinta y Tres | UY-TT | 1884 (from Cerro Largo and Lavalleja) | 9,676 | 48,134 | 4.97 | Treinta y Tres | 25,477 |
The General Assembly has the powers to create new departments, requiring a special majority vote of two thirds of the number of members of both chambers, as provided by the Constitution in article 85. The General Assembly can also define their borders, requiring the same majority. [2]
The basic statutory framework of departments is defined by Section XVI of the Constitution. Each department has Executive and Legislative branches, the former consisting of the Intendant and the latter by the Departmental Board. The Municipal Organic Law No. 9515 regulates more specific details of these rules. [3]
The sources of financial resources of the departmental governments are detailed in article 297 of the Constitution, being the departmental taxes, national taxes whose administration was granted to departments, earnings from services or incomes, money obtained from sanctions, donations, inheritances and bequests received and accepted, and their own part of the National Budged that they were granted by Budget Laws. [4]
Since 2009 (Law No. 18567 of 13 September 2009), [5] the Uruguayan departments have been subdivided into municipalities. As Uruguay is a very small country (3 million inhabitants, of which roughly half live in the national capital), this system has been widely criticized as a waste of resources. Nevertheless, in the municipal elections of 2010 the local authorities were elected and they assumed office months later. Currently there are 125 municipalities scattered all over the country.
Uruguay is a country in the southeastern region of South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil. It is located in the Southern Hemisphere on the Atlantic seaboard of South America between 53 and 58 west longitude and 30 and 35 south latitude. It is bordered to the west by Argentina, on the north and northeast by Brazil, and on the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, which makes up Uruguay's coast.
The national flag of Uruguay is one of the three official flags of Uruguay along with the flag of Artigas and the flag of the Treinta y Tres. It has a field of nine equal horizontal stripes alternating white and blue. The canton is white, charged with the Sun of May, from which 16 rays extend, alternating between triangular and wavy. The flag was first adopted by law on 18 December 1828, and had 19 alternating stripes of white and blue until 11 July 1830, when a new law reduced the number of alternating stripes to nine. The flag was designed by Joaquín Suárez.
The coat of arms of Uruguay or Uruguayan shield was first adopted by law on March 19, 1829, and later on had some minor modification in 1906 and 1908. It was supposedly designed by Juan Manuel Besnes Irigoyen (1788–1865).
Río Negro Department is a department of the northwestern region of Uruguay. It has an area of 9,282 km2 (3,584 sq mi) and a population of 54,765. Its capital is Fray Bentos. It borders Paysandú Department to the north, Tacuarembó Department to the east, Durazno Department to the southeast, Soriano Department to the south and has the Río Uruguay flowing at its west, separating it from Argentina.
Paysandú Department is a department of the northwestern region of Uruguay. It has an area of 13,922 km2 (5,375 sq mi) and a population of 113,124. Its capital is the city of Paysandú. It borders Salto Department to its north, Tacuarembó Department to its east, Río Negro Department to its south and has the Río Uruguay flowing at its west, separating it from Argentina.
Salto Department is a department of the northwestern region of Uruguay. It has an area of 14,163 km2 (5,468 sq mi) and a population of 124,878. Its capital is the city of Salto. It borders Artigas Department to its north, Paysandú Department to its south, the departments of Rivera and Tacuarembó to its east and has the Río Uruguay flowing at its west, separating it from Argentina.
Rivera Department is a department of the northern region of Uruguay. It has an area of 9,370 km2 (3,620 sq mi) and a population of 103,493. Its capital is the city of Rivera. It borders Brazil to the north and east, Cerro Largo Department to the southeast, Tacuarembó Department to the south and west and Salto Department to the northwest.
Tacuarembó is the largest department of Uruguay and it is part of its northern region. Its capital is Tacuarembó. It borders Rivera Department to its north and east, the departments of Salto, Paysandú and Río Negro to its west and has the river Río Negro flowing along its south border, separating it from the departments of Durazno and Cerro Largo.
Uruguay's local government elections, held on May 16, 2005, to elect the intendente of the 19 departments that are the administrative divisions of Uruguay, resulted in major gains for the newly elected Frente Amplio government, and heavy losses for the opposition Partido Nacional and Partido Colorado.
The municipal elections held on May 14, 2000, resulted in the consolidation of the EP-FA as the most popular party, a strong recovery for the Partido Nacional after its worst ever performance in the 1999 general elections, and a slight drop of support for the incumbent Partido Colorado of President Jorge Batlle.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Uruguay:
The Miss Universo Uruguay 2007 was March 17, 2007. There were 20 candidates for the national title. The winner was Uruguay at Miss Universe 2007 and Reina Hispanoamericana 2007. The first runner up entered Miss Tourism Queen International 2008 and Miss Atlantico. The second runner up was Miss Continente Americano 2007. The Best Departemental Costume was used in Miss Universe.
Route 3 is a national route of Uruguay. In 1975, it was assigned the name General José Artigas, the foremost national hero of Uruguay. It is one of the most important highways in the country along with Route 5, connecting the south coast near Rafael Perazza with Bella Unión in the extreme northwest. The road is approximately 592 kilometres (368 mi) in length.
Uruguay's local government elections, held on May 9, 2010, to elect the intendente of the 19 departments that are the administrative divisions of Uruguay, resulted in losses for the Frente Amplio government, and some gains for the opposition Partido Nacional and Partido Colorado. This was the first time that another level of government was elected as well: 89 local governments.
The State Health Services Administration (ASSE) is the state provider of health care in Uruguay. It has a network of services throughout the country.
The 2022 Copa Uruguay, was the first edition of the Copa Uruguay, the country's national football cup tournament. The tournament began on 22 June and ended on 13 November, and had 76 teams participating.
The 2023 Copa Uruguay, is the second edition of the Copa Uruguay, the country's national football cup tournament. The tournament began on 21 August and will have 80 teams participating. It was originally scheduled to end on 10 December 2023, but the tournament will be paused after the round of 16 and will only resume in 2024 with the quarter-finals due to a players strike in Uruguayan football.
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Departments of the Americas | ||
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