Flag of Venezuela

Venezuela's flag consists of three horizontal bands of equal width: yellow at the top, blue in the middle, and red at the bottom. Eight white five-pointed stars are arranged in an arc in the center of the blue band. The Venezuelan coat of arms is located in the upper left corner of the yellow band.

The yellow band represents the land's wealth and sovereignty. Blue symbolizes the sea separating Venezuela from Spain and also represents courage. Red signifies the blood shed for independence from Spain. The eight stars stand for the seven provinces that declared independence in 1811 (Caracas, Cumaná, Barcelona, Barinas, Margarita, Mérida, and Trujillo), with the eighth star added to represent Guayana Province.

The original tricolor design was conceived by Francisco de Miranda in 1806 during his attempts to liberate Venezuela. It was officially adopted as the flag of Gran Colombia in 1819. After Venezuela seceded, the flag remained, but the number of stars varied. The current design, with eight stars, was officially adopted in 2006, adding a star to represent Guayana Province.