Flag of Colombia

The flag of the Republic of Colombia, also known as El Tricolor Nacional, is the national flag representing the country and, alongside the coat of arms and the national anthem, constitutes one of its official national symbols. The flag consists of a rectangle divided into three horizontal bands featuring the primary colors of the RYB color model. The upper band occupies half of the total height, following a proportional ratio of 2:1:1.
Its design is inspired by the flag created in 1801 by Venezuelan patriots Francisco de Miranda and Lino de Clemente for the First Republic of Venezuela, which was later approved by the Constituent Congress of that country in 1811.
These colors were successively adopted by the Congresses of Gran Colombia on December 17, 1819, and the Republic of New Granada on May 9, 1834. The current arrangement of the colors was officially adopted on November 26, 1861, and subsequently regulated by Decrees No. 861 of May 17, 1924, and No. 62 of January 11, 1934.
Due to their shared historical origin, the Colombian flag bears resemblance to the national flags of Ecuador and Venezuela, which were once part of the former state of Gran Colombia. Among these, the Ecuadorian flag is the most similar, with its legislation recognizing two official versions that closely mirror the proportions and layout of Colombia's flag, differing only in the specific shades used. In the case of Colombia, the use of the national coat of arms on the flag is mandatory exclusively in official institutional contexts.
As a national symbol, the flag is employed by the Government and state institutions, with specific variations in its design depending on its intended use by diplomatic, civil, or military bodies.

Design

The horizontal stripes of yellow, blue and red tricolor have a ratio of 2:1:1. The Colombian flag, the flag of Ecuador, and the flag of Venezuela are all derived from the flag of Gran Colombia. The stripes of the Colombian and Ecuadorian flags are different from most other tricolor flags because the three stripes are not equal sizes. In contrast, the flag of Venezuela is a more conventional tricolor due to its evenly sized stripes.
The exact colors of the flag have not yet been officially established by law. However, the following colors, approved by the FIAV, are recommended. These colors, for instance, were used in the "Flags and Anthems Manual" for the 2012 Summer Olympics:

Color scheme	Yellow	Blue	Red
Pantone	116	287	186
RGB	255-205-0	0-48-135	200-16-46
CMYK	0-20-100-0	100-64-0-47	0-92-77-22

Symbolism

According to the government of Colombia, the colors of the flag represent:

The flag's colors have other representations, such as blue for loyalty and vigilance, red for the victory of battles for Colombian independence, and yellow for sovereignty and justice.

History

originally created the common yellow, blue, and red flag of Gran Colombia that Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, with slight variations, share today. Miranda gave at least two sources of inspiration for his flag. In a letter written to the Russian count Semyon Vorontsov and the German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Miranda described a late-night conversation he had had with Goethe at a party in Weimar during the winter of 1785. Fascinated by Miranda's account of his exploits in the United States Revolutionary War and his travels throughout the Americas and Europe, Goethe told him, "Your destiny is to create in your land a place where primary colors are not distorted." He proceeded to clarify what he meant:
After Miranda designed his flag based on this conversation, he recalled seeing a fresco by Lazzaro Tavarone in the Palazzo Belimbau in Genoa that depicted Christopher Columbus unfurling a similar-colored flag in Veragua during his fourth voyage.
In his military diary, Miranda gave another possible source of inspiration: the yellow, blue and red standard of the Burger Guard of Hamburg, which he also saw during his travels in Germany.
In the 1801 plan for an army to liberate Spanish America, which he submitted unsuccessfully to the British cabinet, Miranda requested the materials for "ten flags, whose colors shall be red, yellow, and blue, in three zones." However, the first flag was not raised until 12 March 1806, in Jacmel, Haiti, during his ill-fated expedition to Venezuela.
The flag was officially adopted by law on 26 November 1861.

Official flags

;National flag
;Military and civil flags
;Construction sheets

Historical flags

;Historical national flags
;Historical military and civil flags