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

# The flag of Venezuela

**The flag of Venezuela: Three equal horizontal bands of yellow, blue and red, with an arc of eight white five-pointed stars on the blue.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 2006

The eighth star was added in 2006 to fulfil a decree Simón Bolívar signed in 1817 and which had never been implemented. Venezuela's bands are equal, unlike Colombia's and Ecuador's, and the star arc is the distinguishing feature at any distance. The state flag also carries the coat of arms in the upper hoist; the civil flag does not. The horse on that coat of arms was turned to gallop leftward in the same 2006 revision, a change that attracted more argument than the star.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Colombia | Colombia's yellow band fills the top half and there are no stars. |
| Ecuador | Ecuador also has a double-height yellow band, plus a coat of arms, and no 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** (#FFCC00) — The wealth of the land
- **Blue** (#00247D) — The sea separating Venezuela from Spain
- **Red** (#CF142B) — The blood and courage of independence

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Eight stars | The seven provinces that signed the 1811 declaration, plus Guayana, added in 2006 |

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 2006
- **Colours:** yellow, blue, red

## Common questions

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

Three equal horizontal bands of yellow, blue and red, with an arc of eight white five-pointed stars on the blue.

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

Yellow: the wealth of the land. Blue: the sea separating Venezuela from Spain. Red: the blood and courage of independence.

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

Colombia's yellow band fills the top half and there are no stars.

### When was the Venezuela flag adopted?

The current design dates from 2006, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [Venezuela](https://atoneplace.net/country/venezuela/)
- [The flag of Colombia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colombia/)
- [The flag of Ecuador](https://atoneplace.net/flag/ecuador/)
- [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)]