The flag of Uruguay has nine horizontal stripes – five white and four blue – with a white canton in the upper-left corner holding the Sun of May, a golden sun with a human face. Officially called the Pabellón Nacional (National Pavilion), it was designed by Joaquín Suárez and took its current form on 11 July 1830, a date still marked as Uruguay’s Flag Day. The nine stripes stand for the country’s nine original departments, and the Sun of May is a shared emblem of the Río de la Plata independence movement, which is why the same sun appears on Argentina’s flag.
What most people do not know is that Uruguay has not one official flag but three. The other two – the Artigas flag and the flag of the Treinta y Tres – date from the independence struggle and still fly alongside the national flag on government buildings. This guide covers all three, the meaning of every element, the design’s history, and the question almost everyone asks: why does it look so much like Argentina’s?
The Uruguayan flag in one paragraph
Uruguay’s national flag is a field of nine equal horizontal stripes, alternating white and blue, beginning and ending with white. In the upper hoist corner sits a white canton bearing the Sun of May, rendered in gold with sixteen rays that alternate between straight and wavy. The proportion is 2:3. It was first adopted by law in December 1828, when it carried nineteen stripes, and reduced to its present nine on 11 July 1830. The design has not changed since, making it one of the oldest unaltered national flags in Latin America.
What every element means
The flag combines two borrowed ideas into something distinctly Uruguayan. The striped field follows the model of the flag of the United States, where stripes stand for founding units of the nation; the Sun of May comes from the independence movement of the Río de la Plata, shared with neighbouring Argentina.
The nine stripes. The five white and four blue stripes represent the nine departments into which Uruguay was originally divided at independence. As the country later subdivided into nineteen and now nineteen departments, the stripe count was never changed – the nine remain a historical marker rather than a live count.
The Sun of May. The golden sun in the canton is the Sol de Mayo, named for the May Revolution of 25 May 1810 in Buenos Aires, the event that opened the independence struggle across Spanish South America. Its roots reach further back, to Inti, the sun god of the Inca, and it carries a human face with sixteen rays.
The colours. The blue and white belong to the wider palette of Río de la Plata independence, the same colours Manuel Belgrano chose for the Argentine flag. White is commonly read as peace and integrity, blue as the sky and the waters of the Río de la Plata and the Atlantic, though the founding flag law did not assign fixed meanings to them the way later symbolism has.
For reference, the official colour values are below. Early laws left the sun’s exact appearance undefined; a 1952 decree finally standardised it.
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Stripes | 9 total (5 white, 4 blue) |
| Canton | White, upper hoist corner |
| Emblem | Sun of May, 16 rays, human face |
| Blue | #0038A8 (RGB 0, 56, 168) |
| Gold (sun) | #FCD116 (RGB 252, 209, 22) |
| White | #FFFFFF |
| Designer | Joaquín Suárez |
| Current form adopted | 11 July 1830 |
The Sun of May, explained
The Sun of May is the most loaded symbol on the flag, and the part it shares most directly with Argentina. It depicts a radiant sun with a human face, surrounded by sixteen rays that alternate between straight (triangular) and wavy. Its name commemorates the May Revolution of 1810, but its visual lineage is older: it echoes Inti, the sun deity of the Inca, adopted by the independence movements as a symbol of a new dawn for the region.
Both Uruguay and Argentina use the Sun of May because both descend from the same political ancestor: the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, the short-lived union from which several modern nations emerged. The sun is therefore not a case of one country copying another, but of two countries inheriting a shared emblem. The two suns are near-identical in concept, though they sit in very different places on each flag, as the comparison below explains.
The three official flags of Uruguay
Uruguay is unusual in recognising three official national flags. The National Pavilion is first among them, but the Artigas flag and the flag of the Treinta y Tres are equally official, declared so by decree on 18 February 1952. By law, all three fly together on government buildings during national holidays.
| Flag | Design | Origin and use |
|---|---|---|
| National Pavilion (Pabellón Nacional) | Nine white-and-blue stripes with the Sun of May in a white canton | The everyday national flag, in its current form since 1830 |
| Artigas flag (Bandera de Artigas) | Blue-white-blue triband crossed by a diagonal red stripe | Created by José Gervasio Artigas for the Federal League around 1815; honours the national hero; long associated with the military |
| Flag of the Treinta y Tres | Blue, white, and red horizontal stripes with Libertad o Muerte on the white band | Carried by the Thirty-Three Orientals on their 1825 independence expedition |
The Artigas flag is named for José Gervasio Artigas, the leader of Uruguay’s early independence struggle and the country’s national hero. He based it on Belgrano’s blue-and-white design and added a red diagonal stripe to stand for federalism, the cause he championed. It served as the banner of the Federal League, the confederation of provinces Artigas led between 1815 and 1820, and it remains a symbol of the Uruguayan armed forces today.
The flag of the Treinta y Tres carries the national motto Libertad o Muerte (“Freedom or Death”) across its white stripe. It was first flown in 1825 by the Thirty-Three Orientals, the small band of fighters who landed on the coast to launch the campaign against Brazilian rule. In its colours, blue is said to stand for greatness, white for the Republic, and red for the blood of those who died for independence.
How the design evolved, 1828 to today
The national flag arrived almost as soon as the country did. When Uruguay won recognition as an independent state in 1828, after the Cisplatine War, a constituent assembly adopted a national flag in December of that year. That first version was busier than today’s: it carried nineteen alternating stripes, with nine of them blue.
The problem was practical. From a distance, nineteen thin stripes blurred together and were hard to read. So shortly before the country swore in its first constitution, a new flag law of 11 July 1830 cut the design down to nine stripes total – five white and four blue – the form still in use. That 1830 simplification is the flag Uruguayans fly today, and 11 July is now observed as Flag Day (Día de la Bandera).
What is remarkable is how little has changed since. Where most countries in the region have redesigned their flags repeatedly over two centuries, Uruguay’s national flag has held the same basic form for nearly two hundred years. The main later refinement came in 1952, when a decree fixed the precise appearance of the Sun of May, which earlier laws had left to the discretion of flag-makers. The full independence story behind these dates sits on the history of Uruguay page and the page on Uruguayan independence.
The Uruguayan flag vs the Argentine flag
This is the single most common point of confusion, and the answer is simple once you see the two side by side. They share the Sun of May, but almost nothing else about their layout.
- Argentina’s flag has three wide horizontal bands – light blue, white, light blue – with the Sun of May centred in the middle white band.
- Uruguay’s flag has nine narrow stripes alternating white and blue, with the Sun of May tucked into a white canton in the upper-left corner, never in the centre.
So the quick test is the sun’s position and the number of stripes. A sun in the middle of three broad bands is Argentina; a sun in the top corner above nine thin stripes is Uruguay. The shared emblem reflects shared history rather than imitation: both nations emerged from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and kept the same revolutionary sun.
Flag etiquette and Flag Day
Uruguay treats its flags with the formality common across the region. The national flag flies on government buildings, schools, and public institutions, and is raised on national holidays such as Independence Day on 25 August. On those occasions the law requires the National Pavilion to be displayed together with the Artigas flag and the flag of the Treinta y Tres.
A few conventions are worth knowing. The flag is raised at sunrise and lowered at sunset when flown outdoors, and it should never be displayed in a damaged or soiled condition. It is not placed below any other flag. Flag Day, 11 July, marks the anniversary of the 1830 flag law and is observed in schools across the country, often with ceremonies for children entering the school system. The flag sits at the head of Uruguay’s national symbols, alongside the national anthem and the coat of arms.
Buying or displaying the flag
For visitors who want one, Uruguayan flags are sold in kiosks, bookshops, and general stores, especially around national holidays and during major football tournaments, when the whole country turns sky-blue. Standard household sizes are widely available, and larger sizes can be ordered through specialist suppliers.
One small note on etiquette for travellers: in Uruguay, as in much of South America, draping yourself in the national flag at a football match is a gesture reserved for nationals. As a visitor it is better to enjoy the colour around you than to carry the flag yourself unless you have Uruguayan family or heritage. The sky-blue of the team, after all, comes straight from this flag, and the connection between the Uruguay national football team and the national colours runs deep.
To understand where the flag fits in the wider story of the country, start with the main Uruguay country guide.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Uruguay flag adopted? Uruguay’s flag was first adopted by law in December 1828 with nineteen stripes, then reduced to its current nine stripes on 11 July 1830. That 1830 date is commemorated each year as Flag Day, and the design has remained essentially unchanged since.
What do the colours of the Uruguay flag mean? The flag has white and blue stripes with a gold Sun of May. White is commonly associated with peace and integrity, and blue with the sky and the waters of the Río de la Plata, while the blue and white together come from the shared independence palette of the Río de la Plata region.
What does the sun on the Uruguay flag represent? The Sun of May represents the May Revolution of 25 May 1810, the start of the independence movement in Spanish South America. Its design draws on Inti, the sun god of the Inca, and it appears as a golden sun with a human face and sixteen rays.
What do the nine stripes on the Uruguay flag mean? The nine stripes stand for the nine departments into which Uruguay was originally divided at independence. The idea of using stripes for founding units was borrowed from the flag of the United States.
Why does Uruguay have the same sun as Argentina? Both countries descend from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and kept the Sun of May as a shared emblem of that common independence history. It is a shared inheritance, not a case of one copying the other.
How is the Uruguayan flag different from the Argentine flag? Argentina’s flag has three broad bands (light blue, white, light blue) with the sun centred. Uruguay’s flag has nine narrow white-and-blue stripes with the sun in a white canton in the upper-left corner. The position of the sun and the number of stripes are the quickest way to tell them apart.
Are there other official Uruguay flags? Yes. Alongside the national flag, Uruguay officially recognises the Artigas flag and the flag of the Treinta y Tres, both declared national symbols in 1952. All three fly together on government buildings during national holidays.
Who designed the flag of Uruguay? The national flag was designed by Joaquín Suárez, who served in the provisional government and later became president of Uruguay.
What are the proportions and colours of the Uruguay flag? The flag has a 2:3 ratio. The commonly used colour values are blue #0038A8, gold #FCD116 for the sun, and white #FFFFFF, with the Sun of May carrying sixteen alternating straight and wavy rays.
What is Flag Day in Uruguay? Flag Day (Día de la Bandera) falls on 11 July, the anniversary of the 1830 flag law that established the current nine-stripe design. It is widely observed in schools, often with ceremonies for children beginning their education.
