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As a Spanish-speaking country of Latin America, most Uruguayans share a Spanish cultural background, though about half of the population is of Italian origin. Some 88% of the population is of European descent, with mestizos (8%) and Afro-Uruguayans (4%) forming the only significant ethnic minorities. Church and state are officially separated. Most Uruguayans adhere to the Roman Catholic faith (66%), with smaller Protestant (2%) and Jewish and Armenian (1%) communities, as well as a large non professing group (31%). Uruguay is distinguished by its high literacy rate (98%), large urban middle class, and relatively even income distribution. During the 1970s and 1980s two decades, an estimated 500,000 Uruguayans emigrated, principally to Europe. 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. The country has the lowest birth rate of the Americas, an oddity among the region characterized for birth rates in double digits per a thousand persons. |
Uruguay Information: Inside
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