Flag of Barbados

Country

Flag of Barbados uses vertical triband with a broken trident head. Ratio 2:3, current adoption November 30, 1966 and design credited to Grantley W. Prescod.

Hoist Ratio 2:3 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of Barbados
Entity Type	Country
Identifier	BB / BRB
Region	Caribbean

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	November 30, 1966
First Documented Use	1966
Proportion	2:3
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	Blue, Gold, Black
Designer	Grantley W. Prescod
Construction	Vertical triband with a broken trident head

Documented Colour Values

Colour	HEX	RGB	CMYK
Blue	#00267F	0, 38, 127	100, 70, 0, 50
Gold	#FFC726	255, 199, 38	0, 22, 85, 0
Black	#000000	0, 0, 0	0, 0, 0, 100

Design and Symbolism

Blue	the sea and the sky.
Gold	the golden sand of the beaches.
Black	the trident.
Broken trident	The break with the colonial past — the trident of Britannia appeared on the colonial badge, and its broken shaft marks independence.

Proportions

Ratio	2:3
Hoist	2 units
Fly	3 units

About the Flag of Barbados

Vertical triband with a broken trident head The recorded proportion is 2:3. Within this library it is grouped with vertical tricolour with an emblem designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for Barbados is Blue (#00267F), Gold (#FFC726) and Black (#000000). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

Broken trident: The break with the colonial past — the trident of Britannia appeared on the colonial badge, and its broken shaft marks independence.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1966. The adoption field for the present record is November 30, 1966. The designer is recorded as Grantley W. Prescod.

Additional flag context

The broken trident is one of the few flag charges whose meaning depends on damage. The colonial badge showed Britannia holding a complete trident; snapping the shaft was the point.

Grantley Prescod, a schoolteacher, won the 1966 design competition against more than a thousand entries.

Barbados removed the British monarch as head of state in 2021 and became a republic without changing its flag, which had been designed for an independent country from the start.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Vertical triband with a broken trident head, a 2:3 proportion and the visible broken trident. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — Barbados — Specialist vexillological reference

Other vertical tricolour with an emblem flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of Barbados

Barbados is recorded as vertical triband with a broken trident head.
The reference proportion for the flag of Barbados is 2:3.
The stored palette for Barbados contains Blue, Gold and Black.
The adoption field for this country flag record is November 30, 1966.
The design record traces first use to 1966.
Grantley W. Prescod is credited in the dataset as the designer of the flag.
Its construction is grouped with the vertical tricolour with an emblem design family in this library.
Broken trident: The break with the colonial past — the trident of Britannia appeared on the colonial badge, and its broken shaft marks independence.
The broken trident is one of the few flag charges whose meaning depends on damage. The colonial badge showed Britannia holding a complete trident; snapping the shaft was the point.
Grantley Prescod, a schoolteacher, won the 1966 design competition against more than a thousand entries.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of Barbados

What does the flag of Barbados look like?

Vertical triband with a broken trident head, with a recorded proportion of 2:3.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of Barbados?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 2:3.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of Barbados?

The reference palette lists Blue #00267F, Gold #FFC726 and Black #000000.

What do the symbols on the flag of Barbados represent?

Broken trident — The break with the colonial past — the trident of Britannia appeared on the colonial badge, and its broken shaft marks independence.

When was the present flag record for Barbados adopted?

The adoption field in this record is November 30, 1966.

Who designed the flag of Barbados?

The designer is recorded as Grantley W. Prescod.

Which design family does the flag of Barbados belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with vertical tricolour with an emblem designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.