Interesting Facts About Uruguay

Take a look at a few interesting facts about the South American country of Uruguay:

Soccer Facts

In 1930, Uruguay's national soccer team won the first FIFA World Cup ever held. Although, while they got off to a good start, they have only won the FIFA World Cup one other time since then. The soccer team, which is often referred to as the sky blue (or La Celeste), also was the first soccer team from South America to enter the Olympics.

The country's soccer team also made headlines during the 2010 FIFA World Cup when one of the most popular players, Luis Suarez, intentionally committed a handball offense in order to block what would have most likely been the winning goal for the other team, Ghana. Uruguay went on to beat Ghana with penalty kicks, and many in Ghana felt as if they had been the victims of cheating. It was a controversial move by Luis Suarez as, like Ghana, some considered his action to be cheating while others believed it was fair.

Movie Facts

Another person from Uruguay to make headlines recently was Fede Alvarez (also known as Federico Alvarez). Fede Alvarez apparently was offered a $30 million movie deal by Sam Rami's Ghost House Pictures after Alvarez's impressive short film Panic Attack! received buzz over the internet after posting it to YouTube.

Food Facts

McDonald's menu includes a McHuevo. A McHuevo appears to be a hamburger with a poached egg.

Basic Facts and Figures

Uruguay is the second smallest county in South America. It is about the size of Washington state.

The average life expectancy of the population is 76.55 years. As with most places, women are expected to outlive men.

The average age of the population is around 33 years old.

Montevideo is its capital city as well as the only major city.

Close to half of the population are Roman Catholic.

The country's full name is Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

Longest Facts

The National Anthem of Uruguay is around five minutes in length, making it the longest national anthem of any other country. The lyrics of Uruguay's national anthem were written by the same person who wrote the lyrics of Paraguay's national anthem.

Uruguay Fact Sources

CIA.gov, "CIA - The World Fact Book." URL: (https://www.cia.gov)

Collider.com, "Sam Raimi's Ghost House Makes High-Priced Deal with Fede Alvarez Based on His Low-Budget YouTube Short, PANIC ATTACK!" URL: (http://collider.com/)