At One Place

The flag of Paraguay

The flag of Paraguay
Three horizontal bands of red, white and blue, with a different emblem on each side of the white band — the only national flag whose two faces differ.
Ratio 11:20 · current design adopted 1842

Every other national flag is either identical on both sides or a mirror image of itself; Paraguay deliberately carries two different emblems, and has since 1842. Saudi Arabia and Moldova are sometimes offered as counter-examples, but Saudi Arabia's flag is sewn back-to-back so the same inscription reads correctly from either side, and Moldova put its arms on both faces in 2010 — neither is showing you a different design. The 2013 flag law tightened the ratio to 11:20 and standardised both emblems, which had drifted apart in practice. Making the flag correctly therefore requires two printings or an opaque interlining.

What the colours mean

  • Red #D52B1E Justice, equality and courage
  • White #FFFFFF Purity, firmness, union and peace
  • Blue #0038A8 Tranquillity, liberty and truth

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
Obverse: national coat of arms The May Star in a wreath of palm and olive, reading REPÚBLICA DEL PARAGUAY
Reverse: treasury seal A lion guarding a liberty cap, with the motto PAZ Y JUSTICIA — "Peace and Justice"
Ratio
11:20
Current design adopted
1842
Colours
red, white, blue

Common questions

What does the flag of Paraguay look like?
Three horizontal bands of red, white and blue, with a different emblem on each side of the white band — the only national flag whose two faces differ.
What do the colours of the Paraguay flag mean?
Red: justice, equality and courage. White: purity, firmness, union and peace. Blue: tranquillity, liberty and truth.
When was the Paraguay flag adopted?
The current design dates from 1842, and its official ratio is 11:20.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Official vendor product documentation — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked