Flag of Belize
North America
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Belmopan
- Flag adopted
- 1981
- Population
- 417,634
- Area
- 22,966 km²
- Languages
- Belizean Creole, English, Spanish
- Currency
- Belize dollar ($) — BZD
- Demonym
- Belizean
- Government
- parliamentary democracy (National Assembly) under a constitutional monarchy
- Subregion
- Central America
- Driving side
- Right
- Timezones
- UTC-06:00
- Independence
- 1981
Religions
- Roman Catholic 40.1%
- Protestant 31.5%
- None 15.5%
- Other 10.5%
- Jehovah's Witness 1.7%
- Unspecified 0.6%
About This Flag
The flag of Belize features a royal blue field with narrow red horizontal stripes at the top and bottom edges, and the national coat of arms centered on a white disc in the middle. The coat of arms depicts two woodcutters — one of African descent and one of European descent — flanking a mahogany tree with a shield below containing a sailing ship and woodcutting tools.
The national motto 'Sub Umbra Floreo' ('Under the Shade I Flourish') appears on a scroll beneath. Blue represents the People's United Party, red represents the United Democratic Party, and together they symbolize national unity.
The flag was adopted on September 21, 1981, upon independence from Britain.
What the colors & design mean
Blue represents the People's United Party and the surrounding seas. Red represents the United Democratic Party. The coat of arms depicts the mahogany industry that built the colonial economy, with two woodcutters symbolizing racial diversity and unity. The motto 'Under the Shade I Flourish' refers to the mahogany tree.
Pattern: Horizontal Stripes
Bordering countries (2)
Fun Facts
- Belize's flag has more colors than any other national flag — the coat of arms alone contains over a dozen distinct colors and detailed human figures.
- The flag is one of only two national flags (along with Malta's) to depict realistic human beings — the two woodcutters represent the logging industry that drove the colonial economy.
- Belize was formerly known as British Honduras and was the last British colony on the American mainland to gain independence.
- The mahogany tree on the flag reflects Belize's history as a logging colony — mahogany was so important that it also appears on Belizean currency and the national tree is the mahogany.
Similar looking flags
These flags share similar colors and patterns:
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