Guyana Flag Colors, Meaning & History

Guyana flag
Color Palette
ColorsHEX CodeRGBCMYK
Red#CE1126206, 17, 380, 92, 82, 19
Black#0000000, 0, 00, 0, 0, 100
Gold#FCD116252, 209, 220, 17, 91, 1
White#FFFFFF255, 255, 2550, 0, 0, 0
Green#009E490, 158, 73100, 0, 54, 38

Guyana is the third smallest country in South America. Its flag has a green field. Next to the hoist, there is a red triangle bordered by a thin black frame. Another longer yellow triangle that stretches to the fly side of the flag is colored yellow, bordered by a white thin frame.

Meaning of the Guyana Flag

The green color in the flag stands for the green lands and forests that cover Guyana. The red color represents the passion of its people and the yellow stands for its mineral wealth. The white color symbolizes the rivers in the country since its indigenous name Guyana means the land of water. The black color symbolizes the endurance of people. The flag also honors the Amerindian population which are the original people of the country. It also symbolizes the golden future that citizens aspire to build with the country’s rich natural resources.

History

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America. It was a British colony in the 1880s. Like most colonies of that time, the Union Jack on a blue field was the national flag with a special badge featuring a galley. In 1906, a different badge with a ship and a yellow border placed on a white disk was added to the flag. In 1955 the badge on the flag was modified. When Guyana gained independence in 1966, the search for the independence flag design was launched. The design of Whitney Smith, an American citizen who later became a vexillologist, was adopted. Slight changes were made by the Guyanese to Smith’s design. The current flag was officially hoisted for the first time on May 26, 1966.