---
title: "Flag of Colombia: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Colombia flag stands for, its official 2:3 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/colombia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Colombia

**The flag of Colombia: A yellow band filling the top half, with equal blue and red bands below it. No emblem.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1861

*[Flag drawn on the page: Colombia]*

Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador all descend from the flag of Gran Colombia, designed by Francisco de Miranda in 1806, which is why the three are so easily mixed up. Colombia's is the simplest of the three: no coat of arms at all, and a yellow band twice the height of the other two. The 2:1:1 band proportion is the fastest way to identify it, because Ecuador uses the same proportions but adds an elaborate coat of arms. Miranda said he took the colours from a conversation with Goethe about primary colours, a story he told himself and which nobody has been able to verify.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Ecuador | Ecuador has the same bands and proportions plus a large coat of arms with a condor and Mount Chimborazo. |
| Venezuela | Venezuela's three bands are equal and it carries an arc of eight white stars. |

## What the colours mean

*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.*

- **Yellow** (#FCD116) — The country's gold and its wealth
- **Blue** (#003893) — The two oceans Colombia borders
- **Red** (#CE1126) — The blood shed for independence

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 1861
- **Colours:** yellow, blue, red

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Colombia look like?

A yellow band filling the top half, with equal blue and red bands below it. No emblem.

### What do the colours of the Colombia flag mean?

Yellow: the country's gold and its wealth. Blue: the two oceans Colombia borders. Red: the blood shed for independence.

### How do you tell the Colombia flag from the Ecuador one?

Ecuador has the same bands and proportions plus a large coat of arms with a condor and Mount Chimborazo.

### When was the Colombia flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1861, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [Colombia](https://atoneplace.net/country/colombia/)
- [The flag of Ecuador](https://atoneplace.net/flag/ecuador/)
- [The flag of Venezuela](https://atoneplace.net/flag/venezuela/)
- [Every flag with yellow in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/yellow/)
- [The flag of China](https://atoneplace.net/flag/china/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Spain](https://atoneplace.net/flag/spain/)
- [The flag of Ukraine](https://atoneplace.net/flag/ukraine/)
- [The flag of Romania](https://atoneplace.net/flag/romania/)
- [The flag of Sweden](https://atoneplace.net/flag/sweden/)
- [The flag of Vietnam](https://atoneplace.net/flag/vietnam/)
- [The flag of Belgium](https://atoneplace.net/flag/belgium/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]