Flag of Guyana
The Golden Arrowhead
Guyana's flag is green with a long golden triangle edged in white pointing from the flagpole to the far edge, and a smaller red triangle edged in black on top of it.
At a glance
- Adopted
- May 26, 1966
- Shape (height : width)
- 3:5
- Capital
- Georgetown
- Continent
- South America
- Colours
- green
- gold
- red
- black
- white
What it means
- Green: farming and the country's forests
- White border: the rivers and water
- Gold arrowhead: the country's mineral wealth
- Black border: endurance
- Red triangle: zeal and the energy of building the nation
Where it came from
The flag was designed in 1962 by Whitney Smith, an American flag expert (vexillologist), through a competition held by the government of British Guiana. The new government that took office in December 1964 kept his design.
His first drawing did not have the thin black and white borders. Sources disagree on who added them: one says the College of Arms in Britain, another says Guyana's own design committee, which also swapped some colours.
History
Before independence, the colony of British Guiana used a blue British ensign with its colonial badge, and an unofficial red ensign at sea.
The Golden Arrowhead was raised when Guyana became independent from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966, and it has not changed since.
Fun facts
- It uses five colours, more than most national flags.
- Green covers about half of the flag.
- Guyana's ships fly a longer version of the flag, with a 1:2 shape.
- The official meaning says "gold", not yellow, for the arrowhead.
Easy to mix up with
Eritrea
ZimbabweQuestions
What does the flag of Guyana look like?
Guyana's flag is green with a long golden triangle edged in white pointing from the flagpole to the far edge, and a smaller red triangle edged in black on top of it.
What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Guyana mean?
Green: farming and the country's forests; White border: the rivers and water; Gold arrowhead: the country's mineral wealth; Black border: endurance; Red triangle: zeal and the energy of building the nation.
When was the flag of Guyana adopted?
The current flag of Guyana was adopted on May 26, 1966.
What colours are on the flag of Guyana?
The flag of Guyana uses green, gold, red, black and white.
Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Guyana?
It is easy to mix up with the flag of Eritrea. Eritrea also has triangles pointing from the flagpole, but in red, green and blue with a gold wreath
Famous landmarks in Guyana
🎯 Play the flag quiz 🌍 Play the globe
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- crwflags.com
- Flag picture: flagcdn.com (Wikimedia Commons)