Flag of Gran Colombia

What the flag looks like

Three equal horizontal stripes of yellow, blue and red, with the coat of arms in the center: two cornucopias and a bundle of rods in an oval ringed by the words "República de Colombia" and a green laurel wreath.

What it means

The yellow, blue and red tricolor was devised by the independence leader Francisco de Miranda and is still shared by Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

How to remember it

Gran Colombia's yellow, blue and red stripes are all the same height with a wreathed oval emblem in the middle; Colombia and Ecuador made the yellow double-height, and Venezuela added an arc of stars.

Fun facts

• Simón Bolívar, who led the wars of independence against Spain, was Gran Colombia's first president.
• It broke apart in 1830–1831 into Venezuela, Ecuador and New Granada, which later became Colombia; Panama was part of Colombia until 1903.

Gran Colombia at a glance

Existed

1819–1831

Flag used

1821–1831

Today

Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama

Capital

Bogotá

Region

1819–1831

Languages

Spanish

Flag adopted

1821

Flags often confused with Gran Colombia

• Ecuador: Gran Colombia and Ecuador are both yellow, blue and red with a coat of arms in the center. Gran Colombia's three stripes are equal and its emblem is an oval in a laurel wreath; Ecuador's yellow is double-height and its arms have a condor on top.
• Colombia: Gran Colombia and Colombia are both yellow, blue and red horizontal stripes. Gran Colombia's stripes are equal with a wreathed emblem in the center; Colombia's yellow is double-height and the flag is plain.
• Venezuela: Gran Colombia and Venezuela are both yellow, blue and red horizontal stripes of equal height. Gran Colombia has a wreathed oval emblem in the center; Venezuela has an arc of white stars on the blue and arms in the upper hoist.