Flag of Guatemala

What the flag means

• 🔵Sky blue — the two oceans and the sky
• ⚪White — peace and purity
• 🦜Coat of arms with the resplendent quetzal — liberty

Design set by: ⁨Decreto Gubernativo No. 12 del 17 de agosto de 1871; Acuerdo Gubernativo del 12 de septiembre de 1968 (especificaciones); Decreto 104-97 del Congreso de la República⁩ · Adopted 1871

Highlights

• 🛕 Tikal's majestic Maya ruins
• 🌋 Volcanoes and Lake Atitlán
• 🏘️ Antigua's colonial old town
• 🧵 Vivid Maya woven textiles
• ☕ Aromatic highland coffee

Quick facts

Region

Americas · Central America

Population

18,687,881 people (2025)

Area

108,889 km²

Capital

Guatemala City

Languages

Spanish, Kʼicheʼ

Currency

Guatemalan quetzal (GTQ)

Organizations

United Nations

Neighboring countries

• Belize
• El Salvador
• Honduras
• Mexico

Land neighbors, approximated from simplified map outlines.

Symbols in History (1)

Coats of arms and emblems whose historic seat lies within this country’s present-day territory.

• 

  Coat of Arms of the Federal Republic of Central America

  Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica) · National coat of arms

  OriginIn 1823 the Central American provinces that had broken away from Spain and then from Mexico joined together as the Federal Republic of Central America and took this emblem as the arms of the new union. The federation tore itself apart in civil war at the end of the 1830s and was gone by 1841, but the picture outlived it: El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua still carry versions of it in their national arms. The drawing shown here is a modern redrawing of that composition.

  DescriptionInside a gold-edged equilateral triangle, the republican figure of equality, five green volcanoes stand in a row and shrink towards the right — the five member states — with water at their feet and water again outside the triangle, because the land lies between two oceans. Above them arches a rainbow, banded from violet and red at the bottom through gold and green to blue at the top, a sign of peace, and beneath it a red Phrygian cap throws white rays out in every direction for liberty. The golden oval band carries the name REPUBLICA FEDERAL DE CENTRO AMERICA in black letters, while four rows of white crests run across the deep blue sea below. Outside the band, two green laurel branches arch over the upper half of the oval and are tied at the very top with a pale blue bow, their leafy tips ending part-way down each side.

  Image source: Wikimedia Commons — Coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Central America.svg · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 · Heraldry