Uruguay
Flag & Facts
The national flag of Uruguay consists of 3 main colors; blue, white, and yellow. The flag has a white background, with four light blue stripes. In the top left corner, there is a sun, with humanoid facial features, and sixteen rays, alternating from triangular to wavy. The nine stripes(four blue, five white) represent the nine original departments of Uruguay. The sun in the top left corner is known as the Sun of May. The facial features on the Sun of May are said to represent those of the ancient Incan sun god, Inti. The sun evokes the legend of when the sun broke through the clouds on May 25, 1810, and Uruguay first claimed their independence from Spain(This is why it is called the Sun of May). The reason that the flag stripes are blue is to represent the Uruguayan sky and water. Uruguay got some of their flag component ideas from Argentina’s flag, and USA’s flag.
Economy
Uruguay mainly makes its money through its agricultural exports. Uruguay’s primary agricultural export is beef, but its other major exports are crude petroleum, fertilizers, and cars. Some of Uruguay's major imports are rice, wood, and soybeans. Uruguay’s major trading partners consist of its two large neighbors Brazil and Argentina, but Uruguay also trades with China and the United States of America. Due to Uruguay’s major agricultural profits, agriculture is one of the major industries that provides jobs alongside manufacturing. Uruguay’s gross domestic product(GDP) per capita is 22,797.81 USD(US dollars). GDP per capita is a measure of a country's economic output per person. Relating Uruguay’s GDP per capita to its neighbors, Argentinas is 14,187.48 USD, and Brazil is 10,294.87 USD. Uruguay’s GDP growth rate was around 4.1% in 2023, but the numbers could have easily fluctuated since then. Uruguay is the 80th in the world for GDP rate (“GDP by Country - Worldometer”).