Flag of Bolivia

The Flag of Bolivia

The nation of Bolivia is represented by two different flags. The more common of the two is the national flag, which is a tricolor of red, yellow, and green with the country's coat of arms in the center. The rarer of the two Bolivian flags is the Wiphala banner, which traditionally represents many of the indigenous people of the Andes.

The current flag of Bolivia was originally adopted by Bolivia in 1851. The state flag and ensign (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 and yellow the nation's mineral deposits. According to the new constitution, the Wiphala is considered a national symbol of Bolivia (along with the flag, national anthem, coat of arms, the cockade; kantuta flower and patujú flower).

• Capital of Bolivia: Sucre
• Area of Bolivia: 1,084,390 sq. km.
• Languages used in Bolivia: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara
• Religions in Bolivia: Roman Catholic, Protestant

The Bolivia Flag Symbol and Colors

Each of the three colors found on Bolivia flags represents a different aspect of the nation's character. The red band represents the courage of Bolivian soldiers, the yellow band represents the nation's rich mineral deposits, and the green band represents the country's fertility. The coat of arms represents the nation as a whole and its long heritage.

History of Bolivian Flags

The oldest of the Bolivian flags is the Wiphala banner, which predates European settlement in the Andes. It originated during the days of the Inca Empire, but it fell out of use during the nation's colonial period. The flag was revived in 2009, and it currently has equal status with the national flag.

Several other Bolivia flags were used after the colonial period. The earliest of these flags were green and red, and they featured a gold star within a wreath as their emblem. The nation used two variants of that flag. One had only a single star, while the other had five. Both of those Bolivian flags fell out of use after a single year and were replaced with a tricolor flag. The tricolor had the same colors as the modern flag, but it arranged them in a different order. It also had two variants that were used at the same time. One of them did not have any emblem, while the other featured the country's seal in the center. Those Bolivia flags were used for less than three decades before they were replaced with the modern design in 1851.