---
title: "Flag of Guatemala: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Guatemala flag stands for, its official 5:8 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/guatemala/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Guatemala

**The flag of Guatemala: Three equal vertical bands of sky blue, white and sky blue, with the coat of arms — a quetzal, a scroll, crossed rifles and swords in a laurel wreath — on the white.**

Ratio 5:8 · current design adopted 1871

Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua all fly blue-white-blue derived from the flag of the United Provinces of Central America, which dissolved in 1841 — the family resemblance is a shared constitutional history, not imitation. Guatemala is the one that turned the bands vertical, in 1871, which makes it the easiest of the four to identify. The quetzal is also the name of the currency. The rifles are Remingtons, drawn accurately enough to date them.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua | All three keep the bands horizontal; only Guatemala turned them vertical. |
| Argentina | Argentina's bands are horizontal with a sun, not a quetzal. |

## 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.*

- **Sky blue** (#4997D0) — The Pacific and the Caribbean, which the country lies between
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Purity and peace

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Resplendent quetzal | Liberty; the bird was believed to die in captivity |
| Scroll | The date of Central American independence, 15 September 1821 |
| Crossed rifles and swords | Willingness to defend that independence by force if needed |

- **Ratio:** 5:8
- **Current design adopted:** 1871
- **Colours:** sky blue, white

## Common questions

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

Three equal vertical bands of sky blue, white and sky blue, with the coat of arms — a quetzal, a scroll, crossed rifles and swords in a laurel wreath — on the white.

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

Sky blue: the Pacific and the Caribbean, which the country lies between. White: purity and peace.

### How do you tell the Guatemala flag from the El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua one?

All three keep the bands horizontal; only Guatemala turned them vertical.

### When was the Guatemala flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1871, and its official ratio is 5:8.

## Related pages

- [Guatemala](https://atoneplace.net/country/guatemala/)
- [The flag of Argentina](https://atoneplace.net/flag/argentina/)
- [Every flag with sky blue in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/sky blue/)

## Sources

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