Flag of Guatemala

Flag of Guatemala
	; ;
Vexillological symbol :	?
Aspect ratio:	5: 8
Officially accepted:	In use since: ; November 18, 1871. ; Officially established: ; September 15, 1968

The flag of Guatemala was introduced on August 17, 1871, the coat of arms followed on November 18, 1871. The exact color scheme and legal definition took place on September 15, 1968.

Description and meaning

5: 8 ^?Civic flag

The national flag consists of three vertical stripes of equal size: sky blue on the left, white in the middle and sky blue again on the right.

The sky blue symbolizes the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans , between which the land lies. The color white represents the purity of the country's values. The Central American colors come from the flag of the Central American Confederation . In the Guatemalan flag, only the horizontal arrangement has been changed to a vertical one.

The coat of arms of Guatemala is depicted in the center of the service and war flag . The flag is more widespread in the country than the actual civilian flag. It depicts a quetzal , Guatemala's national bird, as a symbol of freedom. Underneath is a scroll dated September 15, 1821, the day Central America became independent from Spain . Behind the scroll are two crossed rifles that signal the readiness of the country to actively defend itself in the event of a threat. The coat of arms is framed by two olive branches, which symbolize the desired peace.

Historical flags of Guatemala

As a member of the Central American Confederation, Guatemala initially used the flag of this confederation . However, on January 1, 1825, an independent state flag was created, which consisted of simple blue-white-blue stripes. It is unclear whether the Union flag was also used. After separation from the Central American Confederation in early 1839, Guatemala's first national coat of arms, created in 1825, was placed in the center of the flag. This was replaced by a newly designed one on October 26, 1843. On March 14, 1851, under the presidency of Mariano Paredes, there was an unusual change in the national flag. As an admirer of the Spanish origins of Guatemala , he had the Spanish colors added to the blue-white-blue flag, with the flag being divided into two colors in the middle. In order to make the flag “more harmonious” and even more similar to the Spanish one, it was modified again on May 21, 1858, by practically framing the Spanish flag with a blue and white border. When a liberal revolutionary movement overthrew the old regime in 1871, they returned to the purely blue-white-blue design. Under the provisional government of President Miguel Garcia Granados it was decided on August 17, 1871 that the national flag should be used again blue-white-blue, but with vertical stripes. However, it is possible that horizontally designed versions were also used in the first years after the revolution. Until 1968 the color of the blue in the flag was not fixed, so there were also dark variants.

^?United Provinces of Central America July 1, 1823 - Nov. 22, 1824
^?Federal Republic of Central America Nov. 22, 1824 - Jan. 1, 1825
^?Guatemala Jan. 1, 1825-1839

Coat of arms of Guatemala 1825–1843
^?Guatemala 1839 - Oct. 26, 1843
Coat of arms of Guatemala 1843–1851
^?Guatemala Oct. 26, 1843 - March 14, 1851

^?Guatemala March 14, 1851 - May 21, 1858
1: 2 ^?Guatemala May 21, 1858 - Aug 17, 1871

^?Variant until 1968

Republic of Los Altos

On February 2, 1838, the Republic of Los Altos ( Republica del Sexto Estado de los Altos ) broke away from the Guatemalan state and was even briefly recognized by it. This republic with the capital Quetzaltenango also became a member of the Central American Confederation before it was reannected by Guatemala on January 27, 1840. As a flag, the Republic of Los Altos used a red, white and blue, probably vertically striped flag with the coat of arms of the republic - a Quetzal - in the center. The flag of today's Quetzaltenango Department is likely to have been modeled on this historical flag.

Subnational flags

The national flag in the capital Guatemala City

The departments in Guatemala also have their own flags.

Main article : Flags and coats of arms of the departments of Guatemala

Name of the department	Location of the department	flag	Comments
Alta Verapaz
Baja Verapaz
Chimaltenango
Chiquimula
El Peten
El Progreso
El Quiché
Escuintla
Guatemala
Huehuetenango
Izabal
Jalapa
Jutiapa
Quetzaltenango
Retalhuleu
Sacatepéquez
San Marcos
Santa Rosa
Sololá
Suchitepéquez
Totonicapán
Zacapa