Uruguay

3×5' nylon national flag of Uruguay.

Uruguay's flag borrows from two great flags of the Americas: its stripes recall the Stars and Stripes, and its Sun of May is shared with neighboring Argentina.

Design

Nine horizontal stripes, five white and four blue, with a white canton bearing a golden Sun of May with a human face and sixteen alternating straight and wavy rays.

History & Symbolism

The present flag was adopted on 11 July 1830. The nine stripes stand for the nine original departments of the country. The Sun of May, an Inca sun symbol, recalls the May Revolution of 1810 in Buenos Aires that began the region's independence.

Flag Specifications

• Adopted: 11 July 1830
• Official proportions: 2:3
• Colors: white, blue, gold
• Emblem: the Sun of May

Vexillographer's Note

The first version of 1828 had nineteen stripes. Reducing them to nine in 1830 made the flag far easier to read at a distance.

Humphrys Flag Company · Old City Philadelphia · Est. 1864