The flag of Bolivia is the national flag of the

Plurinational State of Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. 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 Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...

and yellow the nation's mineral deposits. Bolivian flag

Since 2009 the

Wiphala The Wiphala (, ) is a square emblem commonly used as a flag to represent some native peoples of the Andes that include today's Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, northwestern Argentina and southern Colombia. Regional ''suyu'' wiphalas are composed o ...

also holds the status of ''dual flag'' in the country. According to the revised

Constitution of Bolivia The current Constitution of Bolivia ( es, Constitución Política del Estado; literally, the ''Political Constitution of the State'') came into effect on 7 February 2009 when it was promulgated by President Evo Morales, after being approved in ...

of 2009, the

is considered a national symbol of Bolivia (along with the flag, national anthem,

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, the cockade; kantuta flower and patujú flower). Despite its landlocked status, Bolivia has a

naval ensign A naval ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by naval ships of various countries to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from a country's civil ensign or state ensign. It can also be known as a war ensign. A large ve ...

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 Bolivia is a unitary state consisting of nine departments ( es, departamentos). Departments are the primary subdivisions of Bolivia, and possess certain rights under the Constitution of Bolivia. Each department is represented in the Plurination ...

, and the larger star the nation's right to access the sea (access that it lost in 1884 in the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

Description

Design and dimensions

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. 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

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 Gregorio Pacheco Leyes (4 July 1823 – 20 August 1899) was a Bolivian businessman and entrepreneur who served as the 21st president of Bolivia from 1884 to 1888. Pacheco won a disputed election that was a virtual three-way tie between him, Co ...

, which specifies that: * * * The exact colors of the Bolivian flag have been established by the Supreme Decree of 2004: The colours of the tricolor can also be found in the Bolivian Wiphala. The Wiphala has been included into the

national colours National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols. Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have ''de facto'' national colours that have become well ...

of the

Bolivian Air Force The Bolivian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Boliviana or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces. History By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft (Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Co ...

such as on the executive

Dassault Falcon 900 The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation. Development The Falcon 900 is a development of the Falcon 50, itself a development of the earlier Falcon 20. Th ...

EX. 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.

Historical flags

The current Bolivian flag has been officially adopted 31 October 1851 during the presidency of

Manuel Isidoro Belzu Manuel Isidoro Belzu Humérez (4 April 1808 – 27 March 1865) was a Bolivian military officer and statesman who served as the 11th president of Bolivia from 1848 to 1855. Under his presidency, the current national anthem of Bolivia and flag o ...

.
According to Supreme Decree No. 27630 of 19 July 2004, during the presidency of

Carlos Mesa Carlos Diego de Mesa Gisbert (; born 12 August 1953) is a Bolivian historian, journalist, and politician who served as the 63rd president of Bolivia from 2003 to 2005. As an independent politician, he previously served as the 37th vice presid ...

, 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 Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to co ...

, 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. File:Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg , ''Colonial flag'', Spanish Empire flag (1506–1825/1821 in Peru, and Bolivia), (1506–1785/1701 in other colonies), (1506–1821 in Philippines) File:Flag of Bolivia (1825-1826).svg , ''Bandera Menor'', Civil flag (1825–1826) File:Flag of Bolivia (state, 1825-1826).svg , ''Bandera Mayor'', State flag (1825–1826) File:Flag of Bolivia (1826-1851).svg , ''Bandera Menor'', Civil flag (1831–1851) File:Flag of Bolivia (state, 1826-1851).svg , ''Bandera Mayor'', State flag (1831–1851) File:Flag of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation.svg , Peru-Bolivian Confederation (1836–1839) File:Banner of the Qulla Suyu.svg, alt=A square flag made of thirteen diagonal arrangements of colored squares, following a rainbow pattern towards the center, the squares in the center being white.,

banner (used since 2009, allegedly

Incan The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

) File:Naval Ensign of Bolivia (1966-2013).svg, Former naval ensign of Bolivia (1966–2013) File:Bandera de Bolivia (Guerra).svg, Flag of the

Armed Forces of Bolivia The Bolivian Armed Forces (Spanish: ''Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia'') are the military of Bolivia. The Armed Forces of Bolivia are responsible for the defence, both of external and internal, of Bolivia and they are constituted by Bolivian Army, ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Bolivia National symbols of Bolivia

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

1851 establishments in Bolivia