Country profile: Paraguay

Paraguay declared its independence on 14 and 15 May 1811. The red, white and blue colours appeared in the country's early years, in various forms.

The current flag was officially adopted on 25 November 1842 by Congress: three horizontal stripes, red, white and blue, with a different emblem on each side.

Both emblems were redesigned and simplified in 2013, without changing the flag's overall appearance.

The elements of the Paraguayan flag have a precise meaning:

• Red: courage, equality and patriotism.
• White: peace and purity.
• Blue: liberty and truth.
• Star of May: shown on the coat of arms, it recalls independence in May 1811.
• Lion and Phrygian cap: on the reverse, the Treasury seal, with the motto ‘Peace and Justice’ (Paz y Justicia).

Paraguay is the only country whose national flag has a different design on each side: the national coat of arms on the obverse and the Treasury seal on the reverse.

14 August is Flag Day in Paraguay, in memory of the day in 1811 when the tricolour is said to have been raised for the first time.

Without its emblems, the Paraguayan flag resembles those of the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which have the same colours in the same order.