Flag of Aruba

What the flag of Aruba looks like

The flag of Aruba has a plain light blue background, often called Aruba blue. In the upper left corner, near the pole, is a red four-pointed star with a white border. Two narrow horizontal yellow stripes run across the lower part of the flag, below the middle. The proportions are 2:3.

The four-pointed star looks like a compass rose with its points aimed in four directions. Aruba is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but it has its own flag, separate from the Dutch tricolor. You can find the flag on the Aruba flag emoji 🇦🇼.

Aruba flag meaning and symbolism

The flag's elements are commonly explained as follows:

• Light blue stands for the Caribbean Sea and the sky that surround the island, and it also carries the idea of peace and hope.
• The yellow stripes are said to represent the sun and the island's past and present sources of wealth, such as gold and aloe, and later tourism.
• The red star represents the island itself and the blood and soil of its people. It has four points like a compass rose, a reference to the four directions from which the island's people and visitors came.
• The white border around the star stands for the island's white beaches and for purity.

None of these explanations is official, so Aruban sources give slightly different versions.

History of the Aruba flag

Spanish explorers reached Aruba around 1499, and the Dutch took the island in 1636. For much of the 20th century it belonged to the Netherlands Antilles, a group of Dutch Caribbean islands governed together. During the 1970s many Arubans, led by the politician Betico Croes, called for a separate status for their island.

The flag and anthem were chosen in 1976, and 18 March, the day they were adopted, became Aruba's national holiday, Flag Day. The flag was selected from entries submitted in a public competition. Aruba left the Netherlands Antilles on 1 January 1986 and became a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Full independence had been planned for 1996, but the plan was dropped in 1990. The flag has not changed since 1976.