Ethnicity, Language, & Religion of Uruguay
Ethnicity
Uruguay's population is about 90% European with the rest of the population consisting of people of African descent or mestizos, which are people of both European and Amerindian descent. Of these ethnic Europeans, most are Spanish, but Italian, German, and Portuguese are also common. Most of the people of Uruguay today are a combination of these various ethnicities, but most people have some Spanish in them.
Language
Spanish is the only official language in Uruguay, but "Portunol" and Brazilian are also common in some areas, especially near or along Uruguay's border with Brazil.
Spanish is a Romance language also spoken in Spain; it is closely related to other Romance languages, including Portuguese, Italian, French, Romanian, others. The dialect of Spanish in Uruguay is quite distinct in comparison to that of Spain and there are also many minor differences in the language across Latin America. Portuguese is also a Romance language that is very similar to Spanish and more distantly related French, Italian, Romanian, and others.