El Salvador’s national flag is a horizontal blue-white-blue tricolour. The state flag carries the national coat of arms in the centre of the white band, linking the design to the shared flag tradition of the former Federal Republic of Central America.
What does the El Salvador flag look like?
The flag has three equal horizontal bands, blue, white and blue. The official state version includes a triangular coat of arms surrounded by the words “República de El Salvador en la América Central.”
Central American origins
Blue-white-blue flags were used by the United Provinces and later Federal Republic of Central America in the nineteenth century. El Salvador returned to this regional color tradition in 1912 after having used a different stars-and-stripes-inspired flag.
What do the colors represent?
Blue is generally associated with the sky and the two oceans bordering Central America, while white is associated with peace and solidarity.
El Salvador flag facts
- Colors: blue and white
- Design: horizontal tricolour
- Current tradition restored: 1912
- State version: carries the coat of arms
