Americas

Flag of Colombia

Colombia is the only South American country with coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, situated in the continent's northwestern corner. It is the world's top producer of emeralds, supplying around 90% of the global supply, and also produces significant coal, oil, and the world-famous Colombian coffee. Colombia has more bird species (over 1,900) than any other country on Earth, making it a premier destination for birdwatchers.

CapitalBogota
RegionAmericas
Current flag since1861
Main coloursYellow, Blue, Red
Populationabout 52 million
Areaabout 1,142,000 km²
Flags in history3

Population and area are rounded.

What the flag of Colombia means

Yellow stands for the gold and wealth of the land, blue for the two oceans that border Colombia, and red for the blood shed for independence. The design comes from the flag of Gran Colombia created by Francisco de Miranda, which also gave rise to the flags of Ecuador and Venezuela. The current form was adopted in 1861.

How to recognise it

Horizontal yellow-blue-red stripes, yellow being the widest.

Did you know?

Colombia is the world's largest producer of emeralds and second-largest producer of cut flowers.

Easily confused with

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

Ecuador

Venezuela

Spain

Flag history of Colombia

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

1861–present

Republic of Colombia

Colombia's horizontal tricolor — yellow (half), blue (quarter), red (quarter) — descends directly from the flag of Gran Colombia designed by Francisco de Miranda in 1806. The wide yellow band represents sovereignty and wealth; blue the two oceans flanking Colombia; red the blood of independence fighters. The current proportions (2:1:1) have been official since 1861.

1830–1861

Republic of New Granada

After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, the central portion (modern Colombia, Panama, and parts of Ecuador) became the Republic of New Granada. It initially retained a version of the Gran Colombia tricolor, though with varying stripe proportions across different governments and constitutions.

1819–1830

Gran Colombia

Simón Bolívar's Gran Colombia — uniting modern Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama — adopted a yellow-blue-red tricolor inspired by Francisco de Miranda's design. Miranda had chosen yellow for the gold of the Americas, blue for the ocean separating it from Spain, and red for the blood that would be shed in the fight for freedom. This shared ancestor explains why Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador all have nearly identical flag colours today.

Related historical states

Empires, kingdoms and republics that once covered part of Colombia.

1819–1831

Gran Colombia

Bolívar's union of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Its yellow-blue-red tricolor is the direct ancestor of all three modern flags.

1831–1858

Republic of New Granada

A vertical red-blue-yellow variant of the Gran Colombia colors, used after Venezuela and Ecuador split away. It later evolved into the horizontal flag of modern Colombia.

1811–1815

State of Cartagena

Cartagena was the first province of New Granada to declare absolute independence from Spain in 1811; its red-yellow-green flag with a blue star is still flown by the Colombian city today.

1857–1886

Sovereign State of Bolívar

One of the sovereign states of the federal United States of Colombia, centred on Cartagena, flying a yellow-blue-red flag before the 1886 constitution abolished the states.