The flag of Nicaragua was first adopted on September 4, 1908, but not made official until August 27, 1971. It is based on, and inspired by, the flag of the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

and flag of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The country's flag is one of the few that currently use the color

purple Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is ...

, due to the rainbow in its coat of arms.

Overview

The two Azure bands on the flag and the arms of

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

in use today is derived from that of the

United Provinces of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

. The triangle, volcanoes, rising sun, Cap of Liberty, and rainbow all appeared on the original emblem. The coat of arms used today contains the name of the state, Republica de Nicaragua, whereas in 1823 the title was Provincias Unidas del Centro de America. The decision to revert to the emblems used by the United Provinces of Central America was taken in 1908 and reflected Nicaragua's aspirations for the rebirth of the political entity formed by the 5 nations. Except for the text around the arms, the flag is very similar to that of the United Provinces of Central America. The 5 volcanoes represent the original 5 member states, the Cap of Liberty represents national freedom, and the rays of the sun and the rainbow are symbolic of the bright future to come. The presence of a rainbow in the coat of arms makes the flag of Nicaragua one of only a handful flags of a sovereign state to include the color

. On 30 January 2025, the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

officially amended the

Constitution of Nicaragua The Constitution of Nicaragua was reformed due to a negotiation of the executive and legislative branches in 1995. The reform of the 1987 Sandinista Constitution gave extensive new powers and independence to the National Assembly, including perm ...

to include the flag of the

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

as one of the country's national symbols.

Historical flags

File:Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg,

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

until 1785 File:Flag of Spain (1785–1873, 1875–1931).svg,

Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala (), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala (), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America, including present-day Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras ...

(1785–1821) File:Bandera del Primer Imperio Mexicano.svg,

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...

(1823–1824) File:Flag of the United Provinces of Central America.svg,

(1823–1824) File:Flag of the Federal Republic of Central America.svg,

(1824–1838) File:Flag of Nicaragua (1858-1889 and 1893-1896).svg, (1838–1854) File:Flag of Nicaragua (1839-1858).svg, (1854–1856) File:State Flag of Nicaragua (1854-1858).png, State flag
(1854–1856) File:Civil Ensign of Nicaragua (1854-1858).svg, Merchant Navy flag
(1854–1856) File:Flag of Nicaragua under William Walker (1856-1857).svg, William Walker's Nicaragua flag
(1855–1857) File:Flag of Nicaragua (1858-1889 and 1893-1896).svg, (1858–1889) File:Flag of Nicaragua (1889–1893).svg, (1889–1893) File:Flag of Nicaragua (1858-1889 and 1893-1896).svg, (1893–1896) File:Flag of Nicaragua (1896-1908).svg, (1896–1908) File:Flag of the Greater Republic of Central America (1898).svg,

Greater Republic of Central America The Greater Republic of Central America (Spanish: ''República Mayor de Centroamérica''), later the United States of Central America (Spanish: ''Estados Unidos de Centroamérica''), originally planned to be known as the Republic of Central Ame ...

(November 1898) File:Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg, (1908–1971)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicaragua, Flag of Flags introduced in 1908 Flags introduced in 1971 National flags

Flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

Overview

Historical flags

See also

References

External links