Flag of Ecuador

What the flag of Ecuador looks like

The Ecuadorian flag has three horizontal bands: yellow on top, taking up half of the height, then blue and red, each taking a quarter. The ratio of the flag is 2:3. The coat of arms is placed in the center, over the yellow and the blue stripes. This is the state flag, flown by government and military. The version for public use, the civil flag, is the same without the coat of arms.

The coat of arms is an oval shield with a landscape. An Andean condor spreads its wings above the shield. Inside, Mount Chimborazo, the country's highest volcano, rises over the Guayas River, and a steamship with a mast shaped like a caduceus sails on the river. Over the scene, the sun is surrounded by part of the zodiac, with the signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer. Around the shield are national flags, a bundle of fasces (rods tied with an axe), and branches of laurel and palm.

The flag of Ecuador is closely related to the flags of Colombia and Venezuela. A simplified Ecuador flag emoji shows the three stripes alone.

Ecuador flag meaning and symbolism

The colors are traditionally explained as follows: yellow for the crops and the fertile soil; blue for the ocean and the clear skies; and red for the blood spilled by the heroes who died for the fatherland and freedom. The colors go back to the flag of Francisco de Miranda, who is said to have chosen them following Goethe's theory of primary colors.

In the coat of arms, the condor, with its wings spread, stands for the power, greatness and strength of Ecuador. Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador and part of the Andes, and the river at its base represents the Guayas. The steamship Guayas was built in Guayaquil, was the first seaworthy steamship built in Ecuador and in South America, and entered service in 1841. Its caduceus-shaped mast represents trade and the economy. The sun and the four zodiac signs recall the months from March to July, the duration of the Marcist Revolution of 1845. The fasces represent republican dignity, the laurel stands for the victories of the republic, and the palm leaf for the martyrs of the fight for independence and liberty.

History of the Ecuadorian flag

Ecuador's colors come from Gran Colombia, the union of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama founded after independence from Spain. Its flag was a yellow, blue and red tricolor. Ecuador left the union and became a separate republic in 1830, and the yellow, blue and red flag was first adopted by law in 1835. Later a vertical white, blue and white flag with stars for the provinces was used, until 1860.

The yellow, blue and red tricolor returned on 26 September 1860, under the presidency of Gabriel García Moreno, when García Moreno took power. The date is now observed as Flag Day in Ecuador. The tricolor has been the flag since then. The design of the flag was finalized in 1900: a decree of 5 December 1900 established the tricolor with a yellow stripe twice the size of the blue and red ones, and the flag with the coat of arms for use by the military and government offices.

Ecuador flag vs Colombia and Venezuela

Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela all fly yellow, blue and red, and the three flags are often confused. In Ecuador's and Colombia's flags the yellow band is twice the height of the others. The flags of Colombia and Ecuador are almost the same, and the main difference is the coat of arms. In the state flag of Ecuador it is large and detailed, while Colombia's has none. Venezuela's flag has three stripes of equal size and an arc of white stars on the blue band.