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The flag of Belize

The flag of Belize
A blue field with narrow red stripes top and bottom, and a large white disc at the centre carrying a coat of arms with two woodcutters, a mahogany tree and a shield of tools.
Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1981

Belize's flag has twelve colours, more than any other national flag, almost all of them inside the coat of arms. It is also the only national flag whose main design element depicts human beings — two woodcutters, one of African and one of European descent, holding an axe and a paddle. The red stripes were added at independence in 1981 as a concession to the opposition, whose colour they are, so the flag is a coalition agreement rendered in cloth. The mahogany tree records the industry that gave the territory its economic reason to exist.

What the colours mean

  • Blue #003F87 The People's United Party
  • Red #CE1126 The United Democratic Party; added at independence for balance
  • White #FFFFFF The disc holding the arms
  • Green #289400 The mahogany tree and the wreath of fifty leaves

Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.

The symbols on it

What What it stands for
Two woodcutters The logwood and mahogany industry the colony was founded on
SUB UMBRA FLOREO "Under the shade I flourish"
Fifty leaves The wreath marks 1950, the year the independence movement began
Ratio
2:3
Current design adopted
1981
Colours
blue, red, white, green

Common questions

What does the flag of Belize look like?
A blue field with narrow red stripes top and bottom, and a large white disc at the centre carrying a coat of arms with two woodcutters, a mahogany tree and a shield of tools.
What do the colours of the Belize flag mean?
Blue: the People's United Party. Red: the United Democratic Party; added at independence for balance. White: the disc holding the arms. Green: the mahogany tree and the wreath of fifty leaves.
When was the Belize flag adopted?
The current design dates from 1981, and its official ratio is 2:3.

Related pages

Sources

  1. The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))

How these figures are compiled and checked