1. Uruguay is the only country whose name in English features the same letter three times in its first five letters.
2. Uruguay is named after the Uruguay River which takes its name from the local name of a bird, the uru, or possibly a snail or mussel, the urugua.
3. Uruguay is the only country in South America that lies totally outside the Tropics.
4. The only country in South America that is smaller than Uruguay is Suriname.
5. The Uruguayan national anthem has 11 verses. Only Greece, with an amazing 158 verses, is longer.
6. There are more sheep than people in Uruguay.
7. Uruguay is the only country with more than three times as many cows as people.
8. Uruguay has only ever won two gold medals at the Olympics, both for football in 1924 and 1928.
9. In 1920, Uruguay passed a law making duelling legal in order to permit a duel between a policeman and a newspaper editor. In 1992, the law was rescinded making duelling illegal again.
10. Uruguay is the only country in the world that has legalised same-sex marriage, abortion and recreational consumption of marijuana.