Costa Rica Flags

The state/national flag, also used as the military ensign, includes the coat of arms of Costa Rica. The civil ensign, commonly used as an unofficial national flag, omits the coat of arms.

The flag was officially adopted on November 27, 1906, including a slight modification to the placement and design of the entrenched coat of arms. The flag of Costa Rica was updated to reflect concurrent modifications to the national coat of arms in 1964 and 1998.

The blue, white and red horizontal design was created in 1848 by Pacífica Fernández, wife of then president José María Castro Madriz. Fernández was inspired by France’s 1848 Revolution, and the creation of the French Second Republic. The new design to the Costa Rican flag adopted the colours of the French tricolour.

The blue colour stands for the sky, opportunities, idealism and perseverance. The white colour stands for peace, wisdom and happiness. The red colour stands for the blood spilt by martyrs in defence of the country, as well as the warmth and generosity of the people. The stripes are in the ratio 1:1:2:1:1.

The coat of arms of Costa Rica was also revised in 1848 and placed in the centre of the flag. In 1906, when the coat of arms was modified, the update was placed in a white disk on the flag’s red stripe, and later on an oval, set toward the hoist.

The coat of arms depicts the isthmus between the Pacific ocean and the Caribbean Sea, with 3 volcanoes. The 7 stars stand for the 7 provinces of Costa Rica. The Spanish name of the country is scrolled on a white banner, Republica de Costa Rica (Republic of Costa Rica), and the Central American union is recognized in the blue upper scroll, America Central, recalling the former United Provinces of Central America.

The flag of Costa Rica is similar to the flag of Thailand, which was adopted 11 years later. It also resembles the flag of North Korea which was adopted almost 42 years later in 1948. Wikipedia