Flag of Argentina

What the flag looks like

Three equal horizontal bands of light blue, white and light blue, with a golden Sun of May with a human face in the center of the white band.

What it means

The light blue and white come from the cockade used in the independence movement and are traditionally linked to the sky and clouds; the Sun of May recalls the May Revolution of 1810 and the Inca sun god Inti.

How to remember it

Argentina is a sky-blue sandwich with one Sun of May in the middle; Uruguay moves its sun into the corner above nine stripes.

Fun facts

• Manuel Belgrano first raised the light blue and white flag in 1812 in Rosario; Argentina celebrates Flag Day on 20 June, the anniversary of his death.
• Aconcagua in the Argentine Andes, at about 6,961 m, is the highest mountain outside Asia.

Argentina at a glance

Capital

Buenos Aires

Region

South America

Population

46 million

Area

2,780,400 km²

Languages

Guaraní, Spanish

Currency

Argentine peso ($)

Flag adopted

1818

Flags often confused with Argentina

• Uruguay: Argentina and Uruguay both use light blue, white and a gold Sun of May. Argentina has three stripes with the sun centered; Uruguay has nine stripes with the sun in the upper-left corner.
• Nicaragua: Argentina and Nicaragua are both blue-white-blue horizontal stripes with a central emblem. Argentina's is a gold sun with a face; Nicaragua's is a triangle in a ring of text.
• El Salvador: Argentina and El Salvador are both blue-white-blue horizontal stripes with a central emblem. Argentina's is a gold sun; El Salvador's is a triangle with flags and a wreath, and its blue is darker.
• Honduras: Argentina and Honduras are both blue-white-blue horizontal stripes. Argentina has a gold sun in the center; Honduras has five blue stars in an X shape.
• Guatemala: Argentina and Guatemala are both light blue, white and light blue with a central emblem. Argentina's stripes are horizontal with a gold sun; Guatemala's are vertical with a coat of arms.