Flag of Honduras

Republic of Honduras

Use	National flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	7 March 1866 (modified colour on 27 January 2022)
Design	A horizontal triband of cyan (top and bottom) and white with five cyan five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered on the white band.
Use	Naval ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A horizontal triband of blue (top and bottom) and white with the National Coat of Arms above an inverted arc of five blue five-pointed stars centered on the white band.

The flag of Honduras consists of three equal horizontal stripes of cyan, white and cyan, with five cyan stars in a quincuncial pattern at the centre of the middle stripe. The two outer bands represent the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and also represent the blue sky and brotherhood. The inner band represents the land between the ocean and the sea, the peace and prosperity of its people, and purity of thoughts. The five stars represent the five nations of the former Federal Republic of Central America and the hope that the nations may form a union again.

In 1823, Honduras joined the United Provinces of Central America and adopted its flag. It continued using a plain blue and white triband after the union dissolved in 1838. On 7 March 1866 five blue stars were placed on the flag to represent the five original provinces: El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala.^[1] The size and position of the stars were officially fixed when the design was standardized on 18 January 1949.^{[citation needed]}

The 1949 decree specified that the stripes were to be cyan, but in practice the flag remained dark blue for the next seven decades. The Honduran government only began flying turquoise flags after the inauguration of president Xiomara Castro on 27 January 2022, after the National Autonomous University of Honduras made that recommendation in 2021.^[2][3][4]

Ships of the Honduran Navy fly a naval ensign which has the coat of arms of Honduras above an inverted arch of five small stars and a pendant.