8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Latin America and the Caribbean / South America

Born in Uruguay

About 1 in 3,955 people born in 2023 started life in Uruguay. A boy can expect to live 74 years and a girl 82, up from 63 and 69 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 3,955
odds of being born here
33,400 births · Ranked 141st of 230
74 / 82
years of life, boys / girls
Was 63 / 69 in 1950
$12,510
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 71st of 203 · extrapolated
96%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 12 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 67 in every 1,000 births to 6.8.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

0255075100195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
020406080195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth74.2 years for boys, 81.9 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 56.8 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year33,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people4.7World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles96%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year45 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 2.7 children on average in 1950. Now it is 1.4, below the 2.1 it takes to keep a population steady.

Children per woman
01234195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman1.41UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.2 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 46 and the poorest fifth 6.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2024
6%Poorest fifth
10%Second
15%Middle
22%Fourth
46%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $12,510 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth46% / 6% (2024)World Bank PIP
Unemployment8.4% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises5.9% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person0.8% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming9% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed28% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment119% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Montevideo, with 1.3 million people.

96%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
100%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Montevideo1.3 million
Salto114,084
Maldonado102,000
Rivera84,775
Paysandú81,550
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Spanish88%
Spanish is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Montevideo Department1.3 million
Canelones217,552
Maldonado129,471
Salto Department114,084
Rivera Department84,775
Paysandú Department81,550
Soriano60,717
Tacuarembó Department60,586
Cerro Largo56,013
San José Department53,856

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 19 regions
  • Montevideo Department1.3 million
  • Canelones217,552
  • Maldonado129,471
  • Salto Department114,084
  • Rivera Department84,775
  • Paysandú Department81,550
  • Soriano60,717
  • Tacuarembó Department60,586
  • Cerro Largo56,013
  • San José Department53,856
  • Colonia50,205
  • Artigas43,897
  • Río Negro Department43,053
  • Durazno Department40,279
  • Lavalleja38,645
  • Florida36,471
  • Rocha Department26,784
  • Treinta y Tres Department25,890
  • Flores Department22,897

People on the move

About 7.8% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Argentina, Spain, Brazil.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Argentina91,485
Spain89,340
Brazil27,225
Residents born abroad4.7% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 7.8% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostArgentina (91,485), Spain (89,340), Brazil (27,225)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $150.0 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

100% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 31%.

100%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
31%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2021)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20247,682Our World in Data, from WHO

Now live it.

Born in Uruguay, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Uruguay

Elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean

All countries

How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences