Bolivia

3×5' nylon national flag of Bolivia.

Bolivia is one of the few countries with two official flags. Beside the red, yellow and green tricolor of 1851, the 2009 constitution recognizes the Wiphala, the checkered banner of the Andean indigenous peoples, as a national symbol.

Design

Three equal horizontal bands of red, yellow and green. The state flag adds the national coat of arms in the center; the civil flag, flown by citizens, is the plain tricolor.

History & Symbolism

The tricolor was adopted on 31 October 1851 under President Manuel Isidoro Belzu. Red honors the blood of the heroes who won independence, yellow the nation's mineral wealth, and green the fertility of its land. Bolivia marks Flag Day on 17 August.

Flag Specifications

• Adopted: 31 October 1851
• Official proportions: 15:22
• Colors: red, yellow, green
• Versions: civil flag (plain) and state flag (with arms)

Vexillographer's Note

Turn Bolivia's flag upside down and the order is green, yellow, red, which is a different flag entirely. Lithuania (yellow, green, red) and Ghana (red, gold, green with a black star) are its closest look-alikes.

Humphrys Flag Company · Old City Philadelphia · Est. 1864