Uruguay’s national flag shows a Sun of May with 16 rays.
The sun appears in the white canton at the upper hoist, beside nine alternating blue and white horizontal stripes. Its sixteen rays alternate between straight, triangular rays and wavy, flame-like rays, giving the emblem its distinctive appearance.
Uruguay adopted its first national flag in 1828, but the original design had nineteen stripes. A 1830 law reduced the pattern to nine stripes, representing the country’s nine original departments and making the flag easier to recognize from a distance. The Sun of May symbolizes the May Revolution of 1810, which began the independence process in the Río de la Plata region.
The Argentine flag also features a Sun of May, which causes a frequent mix-up. Argentina’s version conventionally has 32 rays, while Uruguay’s has 16. Uruguay’s modern sun design was formally standardized by a decree issued on 18 February 1952.