Flag of Nicaragua
Nicaragua's flag has blue, white and blue sideways stripes, with a coat of arms in the middle showing a triangle, five volcanoes and a rainbow.
At a glance
- Adopted
- August 27, 1971first set by decree in September 1908 (sources give 4, 5 or 11 September); made official in its present form by law on 27 August 1971
- Shape (height : width)
- 3:5
- Capital
- Managua
- Continent
- North America
- Colours
- blue
- white
What it means
- Blue stripes: justice and loyalty
- White stripe: purity and integrity
- Triangle: equality
- Five volcanoes: the five countries of the old Central American union
- Rainbow and red cap: peace, and the cap of liberty for freedom
Where it came from
The blue-white-blue stripes come from the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America, a union of five countries formed after independence from Spain in the 1820s. The coat of arms also goes back to the arms of that union, adopted in 1823.
After the union broke up, several of its members kept the same stripes. Nicaragua and El Salvador told their flags apart by adding their own coats of arms.
History
The coat of arms changed several times over the years. The blue-white-blue design came back with a decree in 1908. A law of 27 August 1971 set the present version, including the coat of arms with the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA and AMERICA CENTRAL around it.
In 2025 a change to the constitution also made the flag of the Sandinista party a national symbol, but the national flag itself stayed the same.
Fun facts
- Nicaragua's flag is one of the very few national flags that contains the colour purple, inside the rainbow.
- Its Day of the National Flag is 14 July.
- Five Central American countries still have flags based on the same old union flag.
- The law says the volcanoes must be yellowish green and the cap vermilion red.
Easy to mix up with
El Salvador: El Salvador is also blue-white-blue with a coat of arms in the middle; read the words around it: Nicaragua's says REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA
Honduras: Honduras is blue-white-blue too, but has five blue stars instead of a coat of arms
Questions
What does the flag of Nicaragua look like?
Nicaragua's flag has blue, white and blue sideways stripes, with a coat of arms in the middle showing a triangle, five volcanoes and a rainbow.
What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Nicaragua mean?
Blue stripes: justice and loyalty; White stripe: purity and integrity; Triangle: equality; Five volcanoes: the five countries of the old Central American union; Rainbow and red cap: peace, and the cap of liberty for freedom.
When was the flag of Nicaragua adopted?
The current flag of Nicaragua was adopted on August 27, 1971. (first set by decree in September 1908 (sources give 4, 5 or 11 September); made official in its present form by law on 27 August 1971)
What colours are on the flag of Nicaragua?
The flag of Nicaragua uses blue and white.
Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Nicaragua?
It is easy to mix up with the flag of El Salvador. El Salvador is also blue-white-blue with a coat of arms in the middle; read the words around it: Nicaragua's says REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA
Famous landmarks in Nicaragua
🎯 Play the flag quiz 🌍 Play the globe
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- crwflags.com
- Flag picture: flagcdn.com (Wikimedia Commons)