Flag of Guatemala

This national banner features three equal vertical bands of sky blue, white, and sky blue. Positioned in the center of the white stripe is the national coat of arms, which includes a Resplendent Quetzal perched on a scroll. Beneath the bird, two crossed Remington rifles and two crossed swords are framed by a circular laurel wreath.

The two sky blue stripes denote the country's location between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the central white band represents purity and peace. Liberty is personified by the Resplendent Quetzal, a bird that famously cannot live in captivity, perched atop a scroll inscribed with the date of Central American independence. Protection of national sovereignty is signified by the crossed Remington rifles and swords. Surrounding these elements, the laurel branches commemorate victory and the honor of the Guatemalan people.

President Miguel García Granados established the current design on August 17, 1871, to distinguish the nation from the previous conservative administration's pro-Spanish aesthetics. This change reverted the horizontal stripes of the 1858 flag back to the blue and white palette used by the Federal Republic of Central America. While the vertical orientation was a new innovation at the time, the specific details of the central emblem were further standardized by executive decree in 1968. Proportions and color specifications were most recently reaffirmed by the government in 1997.