Uruguayans

Uruguayos
Total population
c.4 million[a]
Regions with significant populations
Uruguay3,444,263 (2023 Census)[1]
Diaspora total	c. 630,000[2]
Argentina	95,384[3]
Spain	83,601[4]
Brazil	59,562[5]
United States	48,234[6]
Australia	10,000[7]
France	10,859[8]
Canada	7,660[9]
Chile	6,116(2021)[10]
Italy	1,170[11]
Israel	6,202
Mexico	3,309
Colombia	1,000
Languages
PrimarilySpanish Portuguese (minority)
Religion
PredominantlyRoman Catholicism;[12] Significant minority:Irreligion[13]
Related ethnic groups
OtherSouth Americans (especiallyArgentines)
a.^ The total figure is merely an estimation; sum of all the referenced populations.

Uruguayans (Spanish:uruguayos) are people identified with the country ofUruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizenship and their allegiance to Uruguay. Colloquially, primarily among otherSpanish-speakingLatin American nations, Uruguayans are also referred to as "orientals [as in Easterners]" (Spanish:orientales).

Uruguay is, along with much of theAmericas, a melting pot of different peoples, with the difference that it has traditionally maintained a model that promotescultural assimilation, hence the different cultures have been absorbed by the mainstream. Uruguay has one of the mosthomogeneous populations in South America; the most common ethnic backgrounds by far being those from Spain, Italy, Germany and France i.e.Spanish Uruguayans,Italian Uruguayans,German Uruguayans,French Uruguayans andPolish Uruguayans.

Most Uruguayans descend from colonial-era settlers and immigrants from Europe with almost 86% of the population being ofEuropean descent.^[14] The majority of these areSpaniards andItalians, followed by theFrench,Portuguese,Germans, Romanians,Greeks,British (English orScots),Irish,Poles,^[15]Swiss,Russians,Bulgarians,Arab (mainlyLebanese andSyrians),Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews andArmenians.

There are also smaller numbers ofJapanese,^[16] as well as Amerindians, mainlyCharrúa,Minuán, Chaná, Güenoa andGuaraní.^[17] Montevideo, likeBuenos Aires inArgentina andSantos inBrazil,^[18] was a major seaport to dock ships coming from Europe and elsewhere and European settlement greatly affected Uruguay to have a more western oriented culture.

Many colonies such asNueva Helvecia-Colonia Suiza, a Swiss settlement, andColonia Valdense, aPiedmonteseWaldensian colony, are located in the department ofColonia. Also, there are towns founded by British settlers, likeConchillas andBarker. Two Russian colonies calledSan Javier andColonia Ofir, are found in the department ofRío Negro. Also there areMennonite colonies in the department of Río Negro like Gartental and El Ombú, inCanelones Department called Colonia Nicolich, and inSan José Department called Colonia Delta. El Ombú, is famous for its well-knownDulce de Leche "Claldy", and is located near the city of Young.

European immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries heavily influenced Uruguayan culture and lifestyle.^[19][20] The large cities, including its capitalMontevideo, have preserved European architecture, the latter being considered one of the greatest exponents of theart deco style.^[21]

The majority of Uruguayans or theirancestors immigrated within the past five centuries, with the exception of theNative American population.

According to the2023 Uruguay census, 85.2% of the Uruguayan population chose "white" as their main ancestry, with 88.0% of the population identified as having some white racial origins.^[23] Early Uruguayans descend from Spanish and Portuguese colonists during the colonial period prior to 1810. Following independence, from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, significantimmigration from across Europe—particularly Italy and Spain—shaped the demographic composition, resulting in a population with richly diverse European ancestry.^[24]

Today, Uruguay's culture is influenced heavily by its European roots which is evident in its language, food and other aspects of everyday life.^[25]

Up to 2.4% of the population are ofMestizo (European-Amerindian) ancestry according to the 2011 census.^[26] People with Amerindian ancestry can be found in the north of Uruguay, primarily inTacuarembó Department, where the Amerindian ancestry accounts for 20% of the population.

A 1996census identified that 12,600 people in Uruguay were Amerindian descendants. In 2006, a census confirmed that there were 115,118 Uruguayans that descended from one Amerindian ethnic group, theCharrúas, reaching up to 4% of the country's population. In 2005, Sinthia Pagano,M.D conducted a genetic study, detecting that 38% of Uruguayans may have expressed partial genetic influence from the Amerindian population.^[27][28] Another study found that 34% of the population has Amerindian admixture.^[29]

Africans,Blacks andMulattos in Uruguay are more or less 209,662 and they are mostly found inMontevideo,Rivera Department,Artigas Department,Salto Department andCerro Largo Department.^[30] A 2011 census marked that there are more than 300,000 African descendants and that 80% of Afro-Uruguayans are under theworking class line.^[31]

Spanish is the de factonational language.^[32] The standard language, virtually spoken by the entire population isUruguayan Spanish, which is a variant ofRioplatense Spanish.^[33] It has a strong influence of the Italian language and its different dialects due to the number of immigrants that the country received.^[34]

French andItalian have great relevance in society, having been part of the educational curriculum until the 2000s.^[35][36] On the other hand, in the north-east of the country, thefronteiriço dialect is spoken, a mixture between Uruguayan Spanish andBrazilian Portuguese originated due to cultural exchange between the areas on both sides of the border.^[37]English is the most widespread foreign language among the Uruguayan people.^[38]

ContemporaryUruguayan culture comes from the contribution of its alternating early settlers from Spain and Portugal, and important influence of European immigrants – Italians, French, Portuguese, Romanians, and Greeks, among others- and traditions blended withAmerindian andAfrican elements. Uruguay has Portuguese andSpanish colonial architectural heritage and many writers, artists, and musicians.Candombe is the most important example of African influence byslaves.Charrua andGuaraní traditions can be seen inmate, the national drink. BothUruguay andArgentina share its traditionalgaúcho roots (which originated inAndalusia).

Uruguay has no official religion; church and state are officially separated,^[41] andreligious freedom is guaranteed.^[42] A 2008 survey by the INE of Uruguay showed Catholicism as the main religion, with 45.7% of the population; 9.0% are non-Catholic Christians, 0.6% areAnimists orUmbandists (anAfro-Brazilian religion), and 0.4% Jewish. 30.1% reported believing in a god, but not belonging to any religion, while 14% wereatheist oragnostic.^[43]

Political observers consider Uruguay the most secular country in the Americas.^[44] Uruguay's secularization began with the relatively minor role of the church in the colonial era, compared with other parts of theSpanish Empire. The small numbers of Uruguay's indigenous peoples and their fierce resistance to proselytism reduced the influence of the ecclesiastical authorities.^[45]

In 1837 civil marriage was recognized, and in 1861 the state took over the running of public cemeteries. In 1907 divorce was legalized and, in 1909 all religious instruction was banned from state schools.^[45] Under the influence of the innovativeColorado reformerJosé Batlle y Ordóñez (1903–1911), complete separation of church and state was introduced with the newconstitution of 1917.^[45]

Uruguay's capital has 12 synagogues, and a community of 20,000 Jews by 2011. With a peak of 50,000 during the mid-1960s, Uruguay has the world's highest rate ofaliyah as a percentage of the Jewish population.^[46]

TheBaháʼí Faith^[48] is also practiced, along withAfro-Brazilian religions such asQuimbanda,Candomblé, andUmbanda.

Music of Uruguay includes a number of local musical forms. The most distinctive ones aretango,murga, a form of musical theater, andcandombe, an Afro-Uruguayan type of music which occur yearly during theCarnival period. There is alsomilonga, a folk guitar and song form deriving from Spanish traditions and related to similar forms found in many Hispanic-American countries. The famed tango singerCarlos Gardel was born inToulouse, France, then raised inBuenos Aires, but as an adult he obtained legal papers saying he was born inTacuarembó, probably to avoid French military authorities.^{[49][50][51][52]}

"La cumparsita" (little street procession, a grammatical diminutive of la comparsa) is a tango written in 1916 by the Uruguayan musicianGerardo Matos Rodríguez, It is among the most famous and recognizable tangos of all time.^[53]

The popular music of Uruguay, which focuses onrock,jazz, and many other forms, frequently makes reference to the distinctly Uruguayan sounds mentioned above. The groupLos Shakers, similar tothe Beatles, deserve a special mention as the band that kickstarted theUruguayan rock scene.

Thegaucho is a national symbol in Uruguay and Argentina but is also a strong culture in Paraguay and southern Brazil. Gauchos became greatly admired and renowned in legends, folklore andliterature and became an important part of their regional cultural tradition.^[55]

The rate of Uruguayan emigration to Europe is especially high in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France. In the Americas, emigration is mostly to theUnited States,Canada,Argentina, and other nearby Latin American countries such asBrazil andChile. In Oceania, emigration is mainly toAustralia, and to a lesser extent,New Zealand.

• List of Uruguayans
• Demographics of Uruguay
• Uruguayan diaspora
• Hispanics
• Criollo people
• Italic peoples
• Uruguayan Americans

• Uruguayan people
• Demographics of Uruguay
• South American people by nationality
• Ethnic groups in Uruguay

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