The national flag of Uruguay (bandera nacional de Uruguay), officially known as the National Pavilion (Pabellón Nacional), is one of the three official flags of Uruguay along with the flag of Artigas and the flag of the Treinta y Tres. It has a field of nine equal horizontal stripes alternating white and blue. The canton is white, charged with the Sun of May, from which 16 rays extend, alternating between triangular and wavy. The flag was first adopted by law on 18 December 1828, and had 19 alternating stripes of white and blue until 11 July 1830, when a new law reduced the number of alternating stripes to nine. The flag was designed by Joaquín Suárez.

Symbolism and design

The horizontal stripes on the flag represent the nine original departments of Uruguay, based on the U.S. flag, where the stripes represent the original 13 colonies. The first flag designed in 1828 had 9 light blue stripes; this number was reduced to 4 in 1830 due to visibility problems from distance. These stripes of blue and white were inspired by the flag of Argentina, making the flag of Uruguay part of both the Stars and Stripes and Belgrano flag families. The golden Sun of May represents the May Revolution of 1810; the Sun of May is a figurative sun that represents Inti, the sun god and mythological founder of the Incan Empire. It also appears in the flag of Argentina and the coat of arms of Bolivia.

Colors scheme

The specific color hues of the flag are not officially defined by law. However, most representations use the following:

Co-official flags

The National Pavilion shares its official status with two other flags, although it possesses a higher hierarchical position amongst them:

Historical banners

During Spanish rule: Independence from Spain: Flag of Cisplatina, under Portuguese/Brazilian rule between 1821 and 1825: Uruguayan independence and reunification with the United Provinces (1825-1828):

Historical flags

Variations

During the Great Siege of Montevideo (1843–1851) Uruguay had two parallel governments, with two different flags:

Protocol

In accordance with Law No. 9,935 of June 14, 1940, in all public and private educational institutes "the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag will be solemnly performed on June 19." Likewise, Article 28 of the Law No. 9,943, establishes that every natural or legal citizen of Uruguay must take an Pledge of Allegiance to the National Flag. On June 19 of each year, the Promise of Allegiance to the Flag is taken for first-year primary school children and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag is taken for first-year secondary school children. Public educational institutes that do not carry out the ceremony may be subject to administrative sanctions and private ones may be fined. The lack of the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag carries sanctions such as the impossibility of issuing professional or technical titles, and access to work in the public service.

Gallery

Flags of subdivisions

Departments