The flag of Paraguay ( es, bandera de Paraguay) was first adopted in 1842. Its design, a red–white–blue triband, was inspired by the colours of the

French Tricolour The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Ireland ...

, believed to signify independence and liberty. The flag is unusual because it differs on its obverse and reverse sides: the obverse of the flag shows the

national coat of arms A national coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally ...

, and the reverse shows the seal of the treasury. It was revised in 2013 to bring the flag towards its original design. It has a ratio of 11:20.

Description

Officially adopted in 1842 (following the Recomendación, i. e. : address, de la Junta gubernativa de Asunción), each side of this tricolour flag contains a horizontal tricolor of red, white and blue with the

National Emblem A national emblem is an emblem or seal that is reserved for use by a nation state or multi-national state as a symbol of that nation. Many nations have a seal or emblem in addition to a national flag and a national coat of arms. Other national sy ...

centered on the white band. The emblem on the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

side is the national coat of arms of Paraguay: a yellow

five-pointed star A five-pointed star (☆), geometrically an equilateral concave decagon, is a common ideogram in modern culture. Comparatively rare in classical heraldry, it was notably introduced for the flag of the United States in the Flag Act of 1777 and ...

surrounded by a green wreath of palm and olive leaves tied with ribbons of the colour of the stripes, and capped by the words ''REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY'' ("Republic of Paraguay" in Spanish), all within two

concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center point ...

circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

s). The colours of the flag are believed to be inspired from the flag of France to show independence and liberty, and the coat of arms represents the independence of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. The emblem on the reverse side is the seal of the treasury: a yellow lion below a red Phrygian cap on the top of a pole (symbolising courage) and the words ''Paz y Justicia'' ("Peace and Justice"). The differences in the obverse and reverse sides comes from the period when José de Francia was in power (1814–1840). On July 15, 2013, the flag was revised. The coat of arms was simplified and the design was brought closer to its original form.

Colours scheme

Historical flags

File:Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg, Flag of Colonial Paraguay (1506–1700) File:Pabellón sencillo de la Armada de España 1701 1785.svg, Flag of Colonial Paraguay from 1700 to 1785 File:Flag of Spain (1785–1873, 1875–1931).svg, Spanish flag in Paraguay (1785–1811) File:Flag of Paraguay (1811).svg, Flag of Paraguay from 1811 File:Flag of Paraguay 1811.svg, First provisional flag of 1811. Ratio: 2:3 File:Flag of Paraguay June 1811.svg, Second provisional flag of 1811. Ratio: 2:3 File:Flag of Paraguay (1811-1812).svg, Third provisional flag, from 1811 to 1812. Ratio: 2:3 File:Flag of Paraguay (1812-1826).svg, Flag from 1812 to 1826. Ratio: 1:2 File:Flag of Paraguay (1826-1842).svg, Flag from 1826 to 1842. Ratio: 2:3 File:Flag of Paraguay (1842-1954).svg, Flag from 1842 to 1954. Ratio: 2:3 File:Flag of Paraguay (reverse 1842-1954).svg, Flag from 1842 to 1954 (reverse). Ratio: 2:3 File:Flag of Paraguay (1954-1988).svg, Flag from 1954 to 1988. Ratio: 1:2 File:Flag of Paraguay (reverse 1954-1988).svg, Flag from 1954 to 1988 (reverse). Ratio: 1:2 File:Flag of Paraguay (1988–1990).svg, Flag from 1988 to 1990. Ratio: 3:5 File:Flag of Paraguay (reverse 1988-1990).svg, Flag from 1988 to 1990 (reverse). Ratio: 3:5 File:Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg, Flag from 1990 to 2013. Ratio: 11:20 File:Flag of Paraguay (reverse 1990-2013).svg, Flag from 1990 to 2013 (reverse). Ratio: 11:20

Flags of subdivisions

Departments

File:Flag of Asunción.svg,

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

File:Flag of Alto Paraguay Department.svg,

Alto Paraguay Alto Paraguay (; ''Upper Paraguay'') is the least populous as well as a sparsely populated department of Paraguay. The capital is the town of Fuerte Olimpo. In 1992, the Chaco Department was merged with Alto Paraguay. Nature and national park ...

File:Flag of Alto Paraná Department.svg,

Alto Paraná The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

File:Flag of Amambay.png,

Amambay Amambay () is a department in Paraguay. The capital is Pedro Juan Caballero. The name comes from the name of a part of the Caaguazú Cordillera, "Amambai Mountains". Amambay is the name of a fern, typical of the forest in the region. Distric ...

File:Flag of Boquerón Department.svg, Boquerón File:Flag of Caaguazú Department.svg, Caaguazú File:Flag of Caazapá Department.svg,

Caazapá Caazapá () is a city in Paraguay, founded in 1607, by Friar Luis de Bolaños. It is located in the Caazapá District and is the capital of the Caazapá Department. The name Caazapá comes from the Guarani words "Ka'aguy jehasapa" which means "a ...

File:Flag of Canindeyú Department.svg, Canindeyú File:Flag of Central Department, Paraguay.svg,

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

File:Flag of Concepción Department.svg, Concepción File:Bandera Dpto Cordillera.png,

Cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

File:Flag of Guairá Department.svg, Guairá File:Itapflag.PNG, Itapúa File:Bandera del Departamento de Misiones.JPG,

Misiones Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes P ...

File:Flag of Ñeembucú Department.svg, Ñeembucú File:Bandera del Departamento de Paraguarí.JPG,

Paraguarí Paraguarí (; gn, Paraguari) is a city, ''distrito'' and capital of Paraguarí Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country's capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154.Presidente Hayes File:Bandera del Departamento de San Pedro.JPG, San Pedro

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Paraguay 1842 introductions

National symbols of Paraguay