---
title: "Flag of Argentina: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Argentina flag stands for, its official 5:8 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/argentina/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Argentina

**The flag of Argentina: Three equal horizontal bands of light blue, white and light blue, with a golden Sun of May in the centre.**

Ratio 5:8 · current design adopted 1818

*[Flag drawn on the page: Argentina]*

The blue is celeste, a pale sky blue, and it is the flag's defining feature — Argentine law fixed it only in 2010, after decades in which official flags ranged from near-white to navy. The Sun of May was added in 1818 and appears only on the official ceremonial flag; the plain version without the sun remained the ordinary civil flag until 1985, when the sun was extended to all uses. Manuel Belgrano designed it in 1812 for his troops without authorisation and was reprimanded for it. Uruguay's flag carries the same sun, and both derive it from the same revolutionary period.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Uruguay | Uruguay has nine horizontal stripes and puts the sun in a white canton, not the centre. |
| Guatemala | Guatemala's bands are vertical and its blue is deeper. |

## What the colours mean

*Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.*

- **Sky blue** (#74ACDF) — The sky; traditionally also the Virgin Mary's colours
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Peace and honesty
- **Gold** (#F6B40E) — The Sun of May

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Sun of May | An Inca sun with a human face and 32 alternating straight and wavy rays, for the May Revolution of 1810 |

- **Ratio:** 5:8
- **Current design adopted:** 1818
- **Colours:** sky blue, white, gold

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Argentina look like?

Three equal horizontal bands of light blue, white and light blue, with a golden Sun of May in the centre.

### What do the colours of the Argentina flag mean?

Sky blue: the sky; traditionally also the Virgin Mary's colours. White: peace and honesty. Gold: the Sun of May.

### How do you tell the Argentina flag from the Uruguay one?

Uruguay has nine horizontal stripes and puts the sun in a white canton, not the centre.

### When was the Argentina flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1818, and its official ratio is 5:8.

## Related pages

- [Argentina](https://atoneplace.net/country/argentina/)
- [The flag of Uruguay](https://atoneplace.net/flag/uruguay/)
- [The flag of Guatemala](https://atoneplace.net/flag/guatemala/)
- [Every flag with sky blue in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/sky blue/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]