Red yellow green flag with symbol in middle

In colonial times Bolivia was the Audiencia of Charcas, an administrative division of the Viceroyalty of Peru. On August 17, 1825, eleven days after independence from Spain was proclaimed, Bolivia adopted its first national flag. It consisted of red and green stripes with a yellow star on the red, surrounded by a green wreath. (A competing flag design in 1825–26 also showed red, green, and yellow, but, rather than one star, it included five stars within wreaths.) The three colours had been widely used (for example, in clothing) by the Aymara and Quechua peoples, who dominated the area before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors. The colours also have been associated with the valour of the army (red), the richness of mineral resources (yellow), and the fertility of the land (green). There may be a connection with the yellow, blue, and red striped flag of “The Liberator,” Simón Bolívar, which formed the basis for the flags of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

The Bolivian flag adopted on July 25, 1826, had horizontal stripes of yellow-red-green with a coat of arms in the centre. On November 5, 1851, the order of the stripes was changed to red-yellow-green, perhaps to increase its distinctiveness when seen at a distance. Over the years different versions of the coat of arms were introduced, and in the late 1830s Bolivia was temporarily united with Peru under a red flag with the confederation arms in the centre. The current flag law dates from July 14, 1888. The coat of arms has subsequently been modified unofficially by the addition of a 10th star. The 9 stars previously in use referred to the Bolivian departments; the 10th star symbolizes the valuable territory (and its outlet to the ocean) that was lost to Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879–84).

The flag of Bolivia is the national flag of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. It was originally adopted in 1851. The state and war flag is a horizontal tricolor of red, yellow and green with the Bolivian coat of arms in the center. According to one source, the red stands for Bolivia's brave soldiers, while the green symbolizes fertility and yellow the nation's mineral deposits.

State Flag of Bolivia on flagpole

Since 2009 the Wiphala also holds the status of dual flag in the country. According to the revised Constitution of Bolivia of 2009, the Wiphala is considered a national symbol of Bolivia (along with the flag, national anthem, coat of arms, the cockade; kantuta flower and patujú flower).[1]

Despite its landlocked status, Bolivia has a naval ensign used by navy vessels on rivers and lakes. It consists of a blue field with the state flag in the canton bordered by nine small yellow five-pointed stars, with a larger yellow five-pointed star in the fly. The nine small stars represent the nine departments of Bolivia, and the larger star the nation's right to access the sea (access that it lost in 1884 in the War of the Pacific).

Description[edit]

Design and dimensions[edit]

The national flag of Bolivia is described as a tricolor rectangle, with the colors red, yellow and green, in a ratio of 1:1:1, meaning three horizontal bands, with the red on the superior part occupying a third of the flag's width, yellow in the middle band using the same width, and green in the inferior part, using the last third.[2]

The dimensions of the flag had not been defined since its adoption in 1851. Supreme Decree No. 27630 of 2004 finally established that the size of the national flag be of 7.5 squares width by 11 squares long, a square can be any size, but always using the ratio 15:22.

Color and symbolism[edit]

The first description of Bolivia's national flag, together with the significance of these, were first established by the Supreme Decree of 1888 during the government of President Gregorio Pacheco, which specifies that:

•   Red: "represents the blood shed by our heroes for the birth and preservation of the Republic"

•   Yellow: "represents our wealth and resources."

•   Green: "represents the richness of our natural areas as well as hope, a foundational value of our society"

The exact colors of the Bolivian flag have been established by the Supreme Decree of 2004:[3]

The colours of the tricolor can also be found in the Bolivian Wiphala. The Wiphala has been included into the national colours of the Bolivian Air Force such as on the executive Dassault Falcon 900EX.[8] The Wiphala is also officially flown on governmental buildings such as the Palacio Quemado and parliament alongside the tricolor since the introduction of the revised 2009 constitution.[9]

Historical flags[edit]

The current Bolivian flag has been officially adopted 31 October 1851 during the presidency of Manuel Isidoro Belzu.

According to Supreme Decree No. 27630 of 19 July 2004, during the presidency of Carlos Mesa, it was established that the civil flag used in civic, public and patriotic celebrations will be used without the National Shield, instead the flag used by the state in official acts it will include in its central part the shield
During the presidency of Evo Morales, through Supreme Decree No. 241 of 5 August 2009, some symbolic modifications were made to the flag. It was also established that for both the civil flag and the flag used by the State in official acts they should be raised on the right side and the wiphala on the left side.

• Colonial flag, Spanish Empire flag (1506–1825/1821 in Peru, and Bolivia), (1506–1785/1701 in other colonies), (1506–1821 in Philippines)

  What flag is red yellow and green with a symbol in the middle?

  The flag of Bolivia is the national flag of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. It was originally adopted in 1851. The state and war flag is a horizontal tricolor of red, yellow and green with the Bolivian coat of arms in the center.

  What flag is red yellow and green vertical stripes?

  vertically striped red-yellow-green national flag. It has a width-to-length ratio of 2 to 3.