Flag of Ecuador

What the flag of Ecuador looks like

The Ecuadorian flag has three horizontal bands: yellow on top, taking up half of the height, then blue and red, each taking a quarter. The ratio of the flag is 2:3. The coat of arms is placed in the center, over the yellow and the blue stripes. This is the state flag, flown by government and military. The version for public use, the civil flag, is the same without the coat of arms.

The coat of arms is an oval shield with a landscape. An Andean condor spreads its wings above the shield. Inside, Mount Chimborazo, the country's highest volcano, rises over the Guayas River, and a steamship with a mast shaped like a caduceus sails on the river. Over the scene, the sun is surrounded by part of the zodiac, with the signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer. Around the shield are national flags, a bundle of fasces (rods tied with an axe), and branches of laurel and palm.

The flag of Ecuador is closely related to the flags of Colombia and Venezuela. A simplified Ecuador flag emoji shows the three stripes alone.

Ecuador flag meaning and symbolism

The colors are traditionally explained as follows: yellow for the sun, the country's agricultural riches and its fertile land; blue for the sky and the ocean; and red for the blood spilled by those who fought for independence. An older interpretation links the colors to Francisco de Miranda's tricolor, where yellow is America, blue is the sea and red is Spain.

In the coat of arms, the condor stands for the strength, courage and greatness of the nation, as well as for the Andes. Chimborazo is a natural symbol of the country, and the Guayas River stands for the coastal region. The steamship Guayas was the first ship of its kind built in Ecuador, in Guayaquil in 1841, and represents trade and navigation. The sun and the four zodiac signs recall the months from March to June 1845, the time of the Marcist Revolution. The fasces symbolize the republic and the authority of the law, and the laurel and palm mean glory and peace.

History of the Ecuadorian flag

Ecuador's colors come from Gran Colombia, the union of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama founded after independence from Spain. Its flag was a yellow, blue and red tricolor. Ecuador left the union and became a separate republic in 1830, and at first it kept the Gran Colombia flag. The 1845 Marcist Revolution replaced it with a different banner in light blue and white, which was used for about fifteen years.

The yellow, blue and red tricolor returned on 26 September 1860, under the presidency of Gabriel García Moreno, by decree of the national congress. The date is now observed as Flag Day in Ecuador. The tricolor has been the flag since then, though the details of the coat of arms were revised, and the arms were fixed in a law of 1900. This also gives the flag its present form with the double-width yellow band.

Ecuador flag vs Colombia and Venezuela

Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela all fly yellow, blue and red, and the three flags are often confused. In Ecuador's and Colombia's flags the yellow band is twice the height of the others. The flags of Colombia and Ecuador are almost the same, and the main difference is the coat of arms. In the state flag of Ecuador it is large and detailed, while Colombia's has none. Venezuela's flag has three stripes of equal size and an arc of white stars on the blue band.