Flag of Nicaragua

What the flag of Nicaragua looks like

The flag of Nicaragua has three horizontal stripes of equal height: blue at the top, white in the middle and blue at the bottom. The proportions are 3:5.

The coat of arms sits in the center of the white stripe. It is an equilateral triangle that contains five volcanoes rising from the sea, with a Phrygian cap (a soft cap used as a symbol of liberty) on a pole above them. Rays of light spread out behind the cap, and a rainbow arches over the whole scene. Around the triangle, in a circle, are the words República de Nicaragua at the top and América Central at the bottom, written in gold letters. This inscription is the main visual difference from the flag of El Salvador, whose arms are a different shape and carry different words.

The coat of arms is the only multicolored part of the flag, so the rainbow is where purple appears. The bands of the rainbow include violet, which is rare on national flags.

If you need the flag as an image, you can use the download page.

Nicaragua flag meaning and symbolism

The colors come from the flag of the old Central American federation, the United Provinces of Central America, and the decision in 1908 to return to its emblems reflected Nicaragua's hope for the rebirth of the union of the five nations.

The coat of arms carries the main symbolism. The five volcanoes stand for the five original member states of the Federal Republic of Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The Phrygian cap (cap of liberty) represents national freedom, and the rays of the sun and the rainbow are symbols of the bright future to come.

The flag does not use the color purple as a main color, although people often search for "Nicaragua flag purple". The purple is only the violet band within the rainbow in the emblem.

History of the Nicaraguan flag

After independence from Spain in 1821, Nicaragua joined the Federal Republic of Central America (also called the United Provinces of Central America). The federation had a flag of blue-white-blue horizontal stripes with a triangle of volcanoes in the middle, and this is the origin of the flag used by Nicaragua today. It was adopted on 21 August 1823.

After the federation collapsed, Nicaragua kept using the flag until 1854, when it was replaced with a yellow, white and scarlet tricolor. Other former members, such as Honduras and El Salvador, also based their flags on the federal one and still look very similar.

Beginning in 1908 Nicaragua once again flew the federation's design. The current flag was first adopted on 11 September 1908 but was not made official until 27 August 1971.

Nicaragua celebrates independence on 15 September.

Flags that look like the Nicaraguan flag

Several Central American flags share the blue and white stripes inherited from the federation. El Salvador's flag has the same triband and a round coat of arms. Honduras has a blue-white-blue flag with five blue stars in the middle, and Guatemala uses blue-white-blue vertical stripes. Argentina and Uruguay use a lighter blue, but with different layouts. On a small image, the Nicaraguan flag and the flag of El Salvador are almost impossible to tell apart, so the emblem is the clearest way to check which one you are looking at.