Flag of Chile
South America
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Santiago
- Flag adopted
- 1817
- Population
- 20,206,953
- Area
- 756,102 km²
- Languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- Chilean peso ($) — CLP
- Demonym
- Chilean
- Government
- presidential republic
- Subregion
- South America
- Driving side
- Right
- Timezones
- UTC-06:00, UTC-04:00
- Independence
- 1810
Religions
- Roman Catholic 57%
- None 25.7%
- Evangelical 16.2%
- Protestant 1.3%
About This Flag
The flag of Chile, known as La Estrella Solitaria ('The Lone Star'), consists of two unequal horizontal bands — white on top (two-thirds) and red on the bottom (one-third) — with a blue square canton in the upper-hoist corner bearing a white five-pointed star. The white represents the snow of the Andes mountains, the red symbolizes the blood shed for independence, and the blue stands for the sky and the Pacific Ocean.
The white star represents a guide to progress and honor and was also a symbol used by the Mapuche people. The flag closely resembles the flag of Texas, though Chile's predates it by several years.
It was adopted on October 18, 1817, during the Chilean War of Independence from Spain.
What the colors & design mean
White represents the snow-covered Andes. Red symbolizes the blood of those who fought for Chilean independence. Blue represents the sky and the Pacific Ocean. The white star is a guide to progress, honor, and the aspirations of the Chilean people.
Pattern: Horizontal Stripes, Canton Design
Bordering countries (3)
Fun Facts
- Chile's flag is often confused with the flag of Texas — both feature a white star on a blue field beside red and white stripes, but Chile's flag predates the Texas flag by about 22 years.
- Chile is the longest north-south country in the world, stretching over 4,300 kilometers from the Atacama Desert (the driest place on Earth) to the glaciers of Patagonia.
- The Mapuche people, the indigenous group that resisted both Inca and Spanish conquest for centuries, used a star symbol that influenced the flag's design.
- Chile's flag was designed by the Spanish-American minister Jose Ignacio Zenteno and is among the oldest flags still in use in South America.
Similar looking flags
These flags share similar colors and patterns:
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