Flag of Costa Rica

The national flag of Costa Rica is based on a design created in 1848 and consists of two blue stripes, two white stripes, and a central red stripe which is twice as wide as each of the other four. The civil flag omits the coat of arms seen on the state flag, since the state variant is only permitted to be used by the government.

The colors of the flag share the ideals of French Revolution of 1848: freedom, equality, and brotherhood. Blue means the sky, opportunities at reach, intellectual thinking, perseverance to accomplish a goal, infinite, eternity, and ideals of the religious and spiritual desires. White means clear thinking, happiness, wisdom, power and beauty of the sky, the driving force of initiatives to search for new endeavors, and the peace of Costa Rica. Red means “civilization of the century” and the sun casting on Costa Rica the “first rays of its true independence”, the warmth of Costa Rican people, their love to live, their bloodshed for freedom, and their generous attitude. The seven stars in the coat of arms represent the seven provinces of the republic. The flag is almost identical to the flag of Thailand because they both feature five horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue, with the center stripe being twice as thick as the others. However, the color orders are reversed.