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Republic of Guatemala

Use	State and war flag, state and naval ensign
Proportion	5:8
Adopted	17 August 1871; 153 years ago (1871-08-17)
Design	A vertical triband of Maya blue (hoist-side and fly-side) and white with the National Emblem centered on the white band.
Civil ensign
Use	Civil flag and ensign
Proportion	5:8
Adopted	17 August 1871
Design	A vertical triband of Maya blue (hoist-side and fly-side) and white.

The flag of Guatemala, often referred to as the National Pavilion (Pabellón nacional) or the Blue-and-White (Azul y Blanco), features two colors: sky blue and white. According to decree, the two sky blue stripes represents strength, justice, truth and loyalty. The white color signifies purity, integrity, firmness and light. The blue and white colors, like those of several other countries in the region, are based on the flag of the former Federal Republic of Central America.

In the center of the flag is the Guatemalan coat of arms. It includes the resplendent quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala that symbolizes liberty; a parchment scroll bearing the date of Central America's independence from Spain, 15 September 1821; crossed Remington Rolling Block rifles, indicating Guatemala's willingness to defend itself by force if need be; a bay laurel crown, the symbol for victory; and crossed swords, representing honor. It is one of four national flags among UN member states that features a firearm, along with those of Mozambique, Haiti, and Bolivia.

It is one of five national flags that use the ratio 5:8, with the others being Argentina, Palau, Poland, and Sweden.

History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Flag of Guatemala" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Federal Republic of Central America flag was used in Guatemala until 1851, when a pro-Spanish faction took over and added the Spanish colors of red and yellow to the flag. The original colors were restored on 17 August 1871, but as vertical (rather than horizontal) stripes in order to distinguish it from other flags and with a new coat of arms.

The resplendent quetzal previously appeared in the 1830s in the flag of Los Altos, the sixth state in the Federal Republic.

In 2008 a flag called the Bandera de Los Pueblos (Flag of indigenous peoples) was adopted by law and is shown together with the national flag of Guatemala in all events featuring the President of Guatemala since then. The flag is divided in four parts, red, yellow, white and black, each colour representing Xinca people, Garifuna people, Maya people, and Ladino people, respectively.

These colours are also part of the Qʼanil, a Maya symbol in which each color represents a point of the compass, an element of nature and a part of the human being. Qʼanil means "seed" in Mayan languages, and is also one of the 20 days of the Maya calendar. Aimed at promoting "interculturality" in Guatemala, the Bandera de los Pueblos was received with disinterest by the leaders of the peoples, who do not seem to have been consulted.

Promoting the flag

Since 1961, 17 August has been commemorated as Flag Day.

Colors

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Ethnic group flags

Flag	Use
	Bandera de los Pueblos, flag attributed to indigenous peoples.
	Flag of Garifuna

Government flags

• Flag of the president of Guatemala
• Flag of the vice president of Guatemala
• Flag of the president of the Congress of Guatemala
• Flag of the president of the Supreme Court of Justice Guatemala

Military flags

Flag	Use
	Flag of the Minister of Defence
	Flag of the Chief of the General Staff

Political flags

Flag	Use
	Flag of the National Liberation Movement
	Flag of the Guatemalan Party of Labour
	Flag of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity

Department flags

Flag	Department
		Alta Verapaz
		Baja Verapaz
		Chimaltenango
		Chiquimula
		El Progresso
		Escuintla
		Guatemala
		Huehuetenango
		Izabal
		Jalapa
		Jutiapa
		Petén
		Quetzaltenango
		Quiché
		Retalhuleu
		Sacatepéquez
		San Marcos
		Santa Rosa
		Sololá
		Suchitepéquez
		Totonicapán
		Zacapa

Historical flags

The Guatemalan flag has changed throughout history, arriving to its current design in 1871.

Flag	Date	Use
	1524–1821	Flag of the Kingdom of Guatemala
	1821–1823	Flag of the First Mexican Empire
	1823–1824	Flag of the United Provinces of Central America
	1824–1838	Flag of the Federal Republic of Central America
	1825–1838	Flag of Guatemala within Central America
	1838–1843	Flag of Guatemala
	1838–1840 1848–1849	Flag of the State of Los Altos
	1843–1851	Flag of Guatemala
	1851–1858	Flag of Guatemala
	1851–1858	State Flag of Guatemala
	1858–1871	Flag of Guatemala
	1858–1871	State Flag of Guatemala
	1871–1968	State flag used until 1968, similar to modern flag but with minor differences and additions of blue and white ribbons; some variants contained red ribbons or multiple
	1871–1968	State Flag of Guatemala (variant, used before c. 1920s)

References

1. www.congreso.gob.gt https://www.congreso.gob.gt/noticias_congreso/6921/2021/4#gsc.tab=0. Retrieved 3 June 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. "Guatemala". Flagspot.net. Archived from the original on 13 June 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
3. Flags of the World page "Guatemala" ,Archived 17 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Flags of the World page "Guatemala" Archived 17 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
5. AGN (17 August 2023). "Guatemala conmemora el Día de la Bandera - Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias" (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 June 2024.
6. nicka21045 (12 April 2013), Guatemala, retrieved 10 June 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
7. nicka21045 (19 November 2013), Guatemala, retrieved 10 June 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

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