Flag of Honduras

Republic of Honduras

Use	National flag,civilandstate ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	7 March 1866 (modified colour on 27 January 2022)
Design	A horizontal triband of cyan (top and bottom) and white with five cyan five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered on the white band.
Use	Naval ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A horizontal triband of blue (top and bottom) and white with theNational Coat of Armsabove an inverted arc of five blue five-pointed stars centered on the white band.

National flag and woman wearing national colours at the Fiesta DC 2019 Parade.

Theflag of Hondurasconsists of three equal horizontal stripes ofcyan,white and cyan, with five cyan stars in aquincuncialpattern at the centre of the middle stripe. The two outer bands represent thePacific Oceanand theCaribbean Sea,and also represent the blue sky and brotherhood. The inner band represents the land between the ocean and the sea, the peace and prosperity of its people, and purity of thoughts. The five stars represent the five nations of the formerFederal Republic of Central Americaand the hope that the nations may form a union again.

In 1823, Honduras joined theUnited Provinces of Central Americaand adopted its flag. It continued using a plain blue and white triband after the union dissolved in 1838. On 7 March 1866 five blue stars were placed on the flag to represent the five original provinces:El Salvador,Costa Rica,Nicaragua,Honduras,andGuatemala.The size and position of the stars were officially fixed when the design was standardized on 18 January 1949.

The 1949 decree specified that the stripes were to be cyan, but in practice the flag remained dark blue for the next seven decades. The Honduran government only began flying turquoise flags after the inauguration of presidentXiomara Castroon 27 January 2022, after theNational Autonomous University of Hondurasmade that recommendation in 2021.

Ships of theHonduran Navyfly anaval ensignwhich has thecoat of arms of Hondurasabove an inverted arch of five small stars and a pendant.

History

United Provinces of Central America

• 
  Flag of the United Provinces of Central America 1823–1824
• 
  Flag of the United Provinces of Central America 1825–1839

The origins of the Honduran flag date back toUnited Provinces of Central America,which Honduras was part of. It was the first country inCentral Americato use a blue-white-blue triband, which in turn was based on theflag of Argentina

First flag

• 
  1838–1866

Flag used since independence, and finally abolished in 1949. The flag has been defined as flag of the UPOCA without emblem.

Second flags

• 
  1866–1949
• 
  1866–1898 Alternative

On 16 February 1866, PresidentJosé María Medinamodified thecoat of armsand flag, adding 5 stars representing the 5 original united provinces. The most popular arrangement of blue stars was similar to the arrangement of the dots on adie,but there were also alternative arrangements. Versions other than the current one disappeared by the 1930s.

Although there wasn't any mention regarding the exact shade of blue to be used, the most common version (including the one used by military forces) usednavy blue.

Greater Republic of Central America

• 
  Flag of the Greater Republic of Central America 1896–1898
• 
  1898–1930s Alternative

Between 1896 and 1898 Honduras was part of a union known asGreater Republic of Central America.Within the union, Honduras still has its own flag. Around this time, an unofficial version with gold stars comes out, sometimes only considered a mistake. The likely reason for this is that the union used gold stars.

Third flag

• 
  1949–2022

On 26 January 1949, PresidentJuan Manuel Gálvezamended the 1866 decree, confirming the position of the stars. The decree also defined the shade of blue used on the stripes and stars asturquoise.However, that change was not implemented and the flag continued to be produced using navy blue for 73 years.

Fourth flag

• 
  2022–present

In September 2018, an MP proposed to change the colour of the flag toMaya blue,possibly in relation to theMayan civilization,which occupied part of the country's territory.

In 2020, theNational Autonomous University of Honduraspublished its guidelines regarding the shades of blue used on the flag, due to the "absence" of an official position about the topic. Following the intention of the 1949 decree, the guidelines established a lighter shade of blue for the Honduran flag "until its colors are defined and regulated by legislative decree".

On 4 August 2023, theHonduran Armed Forcesannounced a change from this month on their monograms, uniforms and logo to represent the national flag in turquoise. The announcement came shortly after President-electXiomara Castroalso announced the use of the flag in that shade of blue.

Design

Construction sheet

• 

Colors

Colors scheme	Blue Turquoise	White
RGB	0-188-228	255-255-255
Hexadecimal	#00bce4	#FFFFFF
CMYK	100, 18, 0, 11	0, 0, 0, 0
ClosestPantone	306 C

Flags of subdivisions

Departments

• 
  Colón
• 
  Comayagua
• 
  Copán
• 
  Francisco Morazán
• 
  Ocotepeque
• 
  Olancho
• 
  Santa Bárbara

See also

• Coat of arms of Honduras
• National Anthem of Honduras
• Flag of Argentina(similar, except for the central symbolism)

External links

• HondurasatFlags of the World