It’s “u-ra-guay,” not – if you know we are referring to THAT joke from the Simpsons. Uruguay is often mixed up with Paraguay, but now people know they are two totally different countries. But what else?
You might probably have heard about the poorest president in the world at some point. José Mujica, who served in office in 2010 through 2015, was considered the world’s poorest president because he not only shunned the luxurious house for Uruguayan leaders but also was keen on donating 90% of his monthly salary to charity. Since his properties were not really worth much, he lived a pretty “substandard presidential life” with his monthly salary of USD800 which was then in line with the average Uruguayan income. Despite their once very poor president, the economy in Uruguay was actually pretty good. The Human Development Index is now 0.808, considered “very high.” It has also the highest income per person in South America.
It is noteworthy that Uruguay is the only country in Latin America where recreational and medical uses of marijuana are both legal (Recreational use in Colombia is limited to only personal consumption). While you could expect to get a blunt easily there, you need not pay attention to a common myth that everything served there, from brownies through soda, is edibles. Also, not every Uruguayan smokes, so please do not ask a random person on the street if they got the greens with them.
Uruguayans are often joked to be familiar with each other because the population size is only about 3.5 million. This one is pretty self-explanatory – the country is sparsely populated, and it is also impossible for all the people to get to know each other despite the comparably small population.
It is highly recommended you go look up a song called “Uruguay es el mejor pais” on YouTube.