Flag of Guatemala

What the flag of Guatemala looks like

The flag of Guatemala has three vertical stripes of equal width: sky blue at the hoist, white in the middle and sky blue at the fly. The proportions are 5:8. The blue is a lighter shade than the dark blue on many other flags, and it is the main color of the flag.

There are two versions. The civil flag is the plain blue-white-blue triband. The state flag and the war flag carry the national coat of arms on the white stripe. The coat of arms shows a resplendent quetzal, the national bird, perched on a scroll. The scroll carries the inscription Libertad 15 de Septiembre de 1821, the date Central America declared independence from Spain. Behind the scroll are two crossed rifles and two crossed swords, and the whole is surrounded by a laurel wreath.

The small version is shown in the Guatemala flag emoji, and you can find a larger image on the download page.

Guatemala flag meaning and symbolism

According to the decree, the two sky-blue stripes represent strength, justice, truth and loyalty, and the white stripe signifies purity, integrity, firmness and light. The blue stripes are also popularly read as the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which border Guatemala.

The elements of the coat of arms have the following meanings:

• The quetzal, the national bird, symbolizes liberty.
• The scroll carries the date of Central America's independence from Spain, 15 September 1821.
• The crossed rifles (Remington Rolling Block rifles) indicate Guatemala's willingness to defend itself by force if need be. The crossed swords represent honor.
• The laurel wreath is a symbol of victory.

This is why people sometimes ask whether Guatemala has "a gun on its flag": the coat of arms shows rifles, and Guatemala is one of four UN member states, with Mozambique, Haiti and Bolivia, whose national flags feature a firearm.

History of the Guatemalan flag

Guatemala declared independence from Spain on 15 September 1821, along with the rest of Central America. After a short period within the Mexican Empire, the region formed the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823, and the federation chose a flag with three horizontal stripes of blue, white and blue. The blue and white of the flags of several Central American countries are based on this federation flag.

The federation's flag was used in Guatemala until 1851, when a pro-Spanish faction took over and added the Spanish colors of red and yellow. The original colors were restored on 17 August 1871, but as vertical rather than horizontal stripes to distinguish the flag from others, and with a new coat of arms. The quetzal had earlier appeared on the flag of Los Altos in the 1830s. The flag reached its current design in 1997.

Since 1961, 17 August has been commemorated as Flag Day. The flag is also displayed on Independence Day, 15 September.

Flags that look like the Guatemalan flag

Several Latin American flags use light blue and white. The flag of Argentina has light blue and white horizontal stripes with a Sun of May in the center, which is the closest in color. El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua also use blue and white stripes, and they all go back to the same Central American federation flag. The Guatemalan version is the only one with vertical stripes.