Venezuela Flag: Meaning, Colors, History & Facts
Venezuela’s flag has equal horizontal yellow, blue and red bands with eight white stars in an arc. The current eight-star version dates from 2006.
What does the Venezuela flag look like?
The flag consists of three equal horizontal bands: yellow at the top, blue in the middle and red at the bottom. Eight white five-pointed stars form an upward-curving arc in the blue stripe.
What does the Venezuela flag mean?
The tricolour belongs to the independence tradition associated with Francisco de Miranda. Historical explanations connect yellow with the people and federation, blue with the sea separating Venezuela from Spanish rule, and red with the willingness to sacrifice for liberty. Modern explanations vary, so the strongest documented symbolism is the flag’s connection to independence and national unity.
Why are there eight stars?
Seven stars represented the provinces that declared independence in 1811. An eighth star for Guayana was ordered by Simón Bolívar in 1817 and was restored to the modern flag by the 2006 national-symbol reform.
Why older Venezuela flags have 7 stars →
Where did the tricolour come from?
Francisco de Miranda’s yellow-blue-red flag was raised on Venezuelan soil at La Vela de Coro on August 3, 1806. Related tricolours later influenced Venezuela, Gran Colombia and the modern flags of Colombia and Ecuador.
Read the full Venezuela flag history →
Venezuela flag facts
| Colors | Yellow, blue and red |
|---|---|
| Stars | Eight white five-pointed stars |
| Star layout | Arc in the blue band |
| Miranda flag raised in Venezuela | August 3, 1806 |
| Current eight-star version | 2006 |
| Flag Day | August 3 |
How can you identify Venezuela’s flag?
Look for equal yellow, blue and red horizontal bands with an arc of eight white stars across the blue stripe. The star arc is the clearest feature separating Venezuela from Colombia and Ecuador.
Why does Venezuela share colors with Colombia and Ecuador?
The three countries share a historical flag family rooted in the independence era and Gran Colombia. Their modern designs diverged after the political union dissolved, but the yellow-blue-red tricolour remained.
Venezuela flag FAQ
How many stars are on the current flag?
Eight.
Why do older flags have seven stars?
The seven-star design represented the seven provinces that declared independence in 1811; the eighth was added in 2006 to reflect Bolívar’s 1817 decree for Guayana.
When is Venezuela Flag Day?
August 3.
Who is associated with the original tricolour?
Francisco de Miranda.
