Americas

Flag of Belize

Belize is the only English-speaking country in Central America and has extraordinary natural and cultural heritage. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second-longest coral reef in the world, runs along its entire Caribbean coastline. Belize also contains a remarkable concentration of ancient Maya sites scattered throughout its jungles, including the great city of Caracol, and gained independence from Britain (as British Honduras) in 1981.

CapitalBelmopan
RegionAmericas
Current flag since1981
Main coloursBlue, Red, White
Populationabout 410,000
Areaabout 23,000 km²
Flags in history2

Population and area are rounded.

What the flag of Belize means

The coat of arms shows two woodcutters with tools of the mahogany trade, a mahogany tree and the motto “Sub Umbra Floreo”, under the shade I flourish. The circle of fifty leaves recalls 1950, when the independence movement began. The red stripes were added at independence in 1981. It is one of the few national flags that shows people.

More about the flag

Belize, known as British Honduras until 1973, became independent on 21 September 1981. Its flag was based on the flag of the independence-era People's United Party, blue with the coat of arms in a white disc, and the red stripes were added to represent the opposition party. With up to twelve colours, it has more colours than almost any other national flag.

How to recognise it

Royal blue with red stripes top and bottom, and a white circle with the coat of arms in the centre.

Did you know?

Belize is home to the world's second-largest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.

Easily confused with

Belize's flag is often mixed up with these. Learn to tell them apart:

Guyana

Flag history of Belize

Every flag that has flown over Belize, from today back through time.

1981–present

Belize (independence)

Belize's flag is unusual: a white circle with the national coat of arms sits on a blue field with red stripes top and bottom. The red stripes were added to include both political parties — the PUP (blue) and the UDP (red) — in the national symbol. The coat of arms depicts two woodcutters (logging was the colonial economy's foundation) beneath a mahogany tree and the motto "Sub Umbra Floreo" (I flourish in the shade). Belize was the last mainland American country to gain independence, in 1981.

1862–1981

British Honduras (colonial era)

Britain established a settlement at the mouth of the Belize River in the 17th century, primarily for logwood extraction. The settlement became the Colony of British Honduras in 1862 and was renamed Belize only in 1973, eight years before independence. The colony's coat of arms — the two woodcutters — was carried into independence intact, making Belize's national emblem a direct inheritance from its British colonial history.