Flag of Guatemala

Country

Flag of Guatemala uses vertical triband with the coat of arms. Ratio 5:8 and current adoption August 17, 1871.

Hoist Ratio 5:8 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of Guatemala
Entity Type	Country
Official Name	Republic of Guatemala
Identifier	GT / GTM
Region	Central America

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	August 17, 1871
First Documented Use	1871
Proportion	5:8
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	Sky Blue, White
Construction	Vertical triband with the coat of arms

Documented Colour Values

Colour	Appearance	HEX	RGB	CMYK
Sky Blue		#4997D0	73, 151, 208	65, 27, 0, 18
White		#FFFFFF	255, 255, 255	0, 0, 0, 0

Design and Symbolism

Sky Blue	the Pacific and Caribbean, and the sky.
White	purity and peace.
Resplendent quetzal	The national bird, a symbol of liberty because it is said not to survive in captivity.
Crossed rifles and swords	The willingness to defend the country by force if necessary.
Scroll	The date of Central American independence, 15 September 1821.

Proportions

Ratio	5:8
Hoist	5 units
Fly	8 units

About the Flag of Guatemala

Vertical triband with the coat of arms The recorded proportion is 5:8. Within this library it is grouped with vertical tricolour designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for Guatemala is Sky Blue (#4997D0) and White (#FFFFFF). 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

Resplendent quetzal: The national bird, a symbol of liberty because it is said not to survive in captivity; Crossed rifles and swords: The willingness to defend the country by force if necessary; Scroll: The date of Central American independence, 15 September 1821.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1871. The adoption field for the present record is August 17, 1871.

Additional flag context

The vertical arrangement of the blue and white bands, rather than the horizontal arrangement used by the rest of Central America, was adopted in 1871 to distinguish Guatemala from its neighbours.

The resplendent quetzal in the coat of arms is a symbol of liberty because it is said not to survive in captivity; the bird also gives the currency its name.

The scroll beneath the quetzal carries the date of Central American independence — 15 September 1821 — rather than any date belonging to Guatemala alone.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Vertical triband with the coat of arms, a 5:8 proportion and the visible resplendent quetzal. 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 — Guatemala — Specialist vexillological reference

Other vertical tricolour flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of Guatemala

Guatemala is recorded as vertical triband with the coat of arms.
The reference proportion for the flag of Guatemala is 5:8.
The stored palette for Guatemala contains Sky Blue and White.
The adoption field for this country flag record is August 17, 1871.
The design record traces first use to 1871.
Its construction is grouped with the vertical tricolour design family in this library.
Resplendent quetzal: The national bird, a symbol of liberty because it is said not to survive in captivity.
Crossed rifles and swords: The willingness to defend the country by force if necessary.
The vertical arrangement of the blue and white bands, rather than the horizontal arrangement used by the rest of Central America, was adopted in 1871 to distinguish Guatemala from its neighbours.
The resplendent quetzal in the coat of arms is a symbol of liberty because it is said not to survive in captivity; the bird also gives the currency its name.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of Guatemala

What does the flag of Guatemala look like?

Vertical triband with the coat of arms, with a recorded proportion of 5:8.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of Guatemala?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 5:8.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of Guatemala?

The reference palette lists Sky Blue #4997D0 and White #FFFFFF.

What do the symbols on the flag of Guatemala represent?

Resplendent quetzal — The national bird, a symbol of liberty because it is said not to survive in captivity. Crossed rifles and swords — The willingness to defend the country by force if necessary. Scroll — The date of Central American independence, 15 September 1821.

When was the present flag record for Guatemala adopted?

The adoption field in this record is August 17, 1871.

Which design family does the flag of Guatemala belong to?

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

Where can I verify information about the flag of Guatemala?

The verification-source section on this page links to an official, governmental or specialist reference used to check the underlying record. Source wording is not copied into the article.