Uruguay Facts For KidsUruguay flag's design was based on the flag of Argentina and the flag of United States of America. It was designed by Joaquin Suarez. It has a field of nine equal horizontal stripes alternating white and blue and a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May, with 16 rays that alternate between triangular and wavy.
The Guarani word, Uruguay, means ‘river
of the painted birds’. 
The
official name of Uruguay is 'The Oriental Republic of Uruguay'.
The population is 3,500,000 people, with almost half living
in the capital city, Montevideo. The president of Uruguay is President Jose Mujica.
Spanish is the most common language spoken in
Uruguay and the Uruguayan peso is the official currency of Uruguay. It was
adopted in 1993. One peso is subdivided into 100 centesimos.
The ‘Chivito’ is Uruguay’s favourite food item. It's made
with two thick slices of bread, a slice of beef, a slice of ham, a slice of
bacon, a hardboiled egg, some mozzarella cheese and tomatoes/olives for
seasoning.
Uruguay’s
national day is celebrated on 25th August each year.
Rice, wheat, fish,
barley, and corn are the major agricultural products in Uruguay, and food
processing, transportation equipment, electrical machinery, petroleum products,
textiles, chemicals, and beverages are the major industries there.
Until now, Uruguay has won two gold medals in Summer
Olympics. It won football gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris and
the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
The
Uruguayan Under 20 Football Team will play in the Under 20 Football World Cup
in New Zealand in 2015.
Uruguay is the second-smallest South American country. Most
of the low-lying landscape is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising. (¾
of Uruguay) Cows outnumber people by three to one. 
It has free education. All public school children have
internet access.
