World Sites & Apps
South America · #120 · 2025–2026

Uruguay: internet and everyday apps

Uruguay has about 3.2 million people online — a penetration rate of 94.1% and rank #120 worldwide. This page walks through the local digital scene, the app categories people lean on, and 17 apps worth knowing.

Internet users 3.2 million Penetration 94.1% World rank #120 Updated 2026-11-12
Language EspañolEnglish
TL;DR
  • Uruguay has roughly 3.2 million internet users (3,200,000 people) — about 94.1% of the population and rank #120 globally.
  • The apps people open most: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube. They cover Messaging, Social, Video, Shopping, Payments, Mobility, Food, Tools, Gaming and more.
  • The one to know first: WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

Uruguay in numbers

2025–2026
Internet users
3.2 million3,200,000 · #120
Penetration
94.1%#33
Population
3.4 million3,400,000 · #134
GDP
$82B#83
GDP growth
+3.3%#108
GDP per person
$24,206#68
Land area
181.0k km²#90
Capital
Montevideo
Region
South America
Official languages
Spanish

How Uruguay goes online

Montevideo uses WhatsApp for everything and Instagram for looking. Mercado Pago became the natural way to pay in a small shop, and the banks apps cover the rest. El País gets read widely, especially by older readers who never dropped the newspaper habit. Fibre reaches much of the housing, so the argument is not speed but what to do with it on a rainy Sunday.

Around 94.1%. With a population of about 3.4 million and 3.2 million online, roughly 200 thousand people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

All 17 apps below are grouped by category.

What people actually use

17 Most-used apps

Messaging

1 Most-used apps →
WhatsApp Messaging · Meta · 2009

Social

2 Most-used apps →
Instagram Social · Meta · 2010 Facebook Social · Meta · 2004

Video

2 Most-used apps →
YouTube Video · Google · 2005 TikTok Video · ByteDance · 2016

Shopping

2 Most-used apps →
Mercado Libre Shopping · Mercado Libre · 1999 Amazon Shopping · Amazon.com, Inc. · 1994

Payments

1 Most-used apps →
Mercado Pago Payments · Mercado Libre · 2003

Mobility

2 Most-used apps →
Uber Mobility · Uber Technologies · 2009 inDrive Mobility · inDrive · 2012

Food

2 Most-used apps →
Rappi Food · Rappi · 2015 PedidosYa Food · Delivery Hero · 2009

Tools

3 Most-used apps →
Google Tools · Google · 1998 Gmail Tools · Google · 2004 Antel Tools · Antel · 2010

Gaming

2 Most-used apps →
PUBG Mobile Gaming · Krafton · Level Infinite · 2018 Garena Free Fire Gaming · Garena · 2017

Websites people in Uruguay actually use

11

The 11 sites locals open most often — news, shopping, search, banking and government services. Every link goes to the official site.

News2Banking2Utilities2Shopping1Telecom1Education1Government1Classifieds1
El PaisNewselpais.com.uyLong-running national daily, read for politics and football coverage. El ObservadorNewselobservador.com.uyAn economic and political daily. Banco RepublicaBankingbrou.com.uyState bank where salaries land and most household bills get paid. Central Bank of UruguayBankingbcu.gub.uyThe central bank: the Uruguayan peso and its indicators. Administración Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones EléctricasUtilitiesute.com.uyUruguay's state electricity utility, with bills, outage maps and new service requests. ANCAPUtilitiesancap.com.uyThe state oil company. Mercado Libre UruguayShoppingmercadolibre.com.uyMarketplace for used goods and new electronics, with fast local delivery. AntelTelecomantel.com.uyState telecom for home internet, mobile plans and paying the bill. University of the RepublicEducationudelar.edu.uyThe only public university, and free. DGIGovernmentgub.uyTaxes and e-invoicing. GallitoClassifiedsgallito.com.uyListings for cars, homes and jobs.

2808 websites →

Frequently asked questions

6 Q&A
How many people in Uruguay are online?

About 3.2 million (3,200,000 people). That works out to roughly 94.1% of the population, which puts Uruguay at #120 in the world for total internet users. Figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026, which draws on ITU and national statistics.

Which apps do people in Uruguay use most?

Mostly WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube — they cover Messaging, Social, Video, Shopping, Payments, Mobility, Food, Tools, Gaming. The full list, grouped by category, is further down this page.

What is the leading Messaging app in Uruguay?

WhatsApp dominate this space. The best-known is WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

How high is internet penetration in Uruguay?

Around 94.1%. With a population of about 3.4 million and 3.2 million online, roughly 200 thousand people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

Where do these app facts come from?

Usage figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026 (Kepios, based on ITU and national statistics); app details come from each product’s official site. Updated 2026-11-12.

Which websites are most popular in Uruguay?

The everyday ones are El Pais, Mercado Libre Uruguay, Banco Republica, plus the other 11 sites listed above. They cover news, shopping, search, banking and official paperwork, and every link points to the official site.

Sources

Updated 2026-11-12
Cite this pageWorld Sites & Apps. “Uruguay: internet and everyday apps”. 2026. https://abcvv.com/c/uy-en.html