The flags of South America

Twelve flags, two historical legacies, three confusions. It is the fastest continent to master completely.

Reference · 12 flags · game data, updated August 2026

With 12 countries, South America can be learned in one sitting. Two histories explain almost all its flags: Simón Bolívar's in the north, José de San Martín's in the south.

Yellow, blue and red

Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela carry the same three horizontal bands — yellow, blue, red — inherited from the flag of Gran Colombia, the state Bolívar founded in 1819 and which broke up in 1831. Telling them apart comes down to the coat of arms: Colombia has none, Ecuador carries a large one at the centre, Venezuela lines up eight white stars in an arc.

It is by far the most frequent confusion on the continent, and it is settled by this single rule: nothing in the centre = Colombia; a coat of arms = Ecuador; stars = Venezuela.

The Sun of May

Argentina and Uruguay both carry the sol de Mayo, the human-faced sun commemorating the revolution of May 1810. The Argentine flag is sky blue and white in three bands; the Uruguayan adds nine stripes and puts the sun in a canton. Bolivia and Paraguay complete the South American legacy with tricolours bearing a coat of arms — Paraguay being the only country in the world whose flag carries a different emblem on each side.

The remaining two

Brazil, with its starry Rio sky on the evening of 15 November 1889 and its positivist motto Ordem e Progresso, resembles nothing else. Chile, by contrast, is regularly confused with the flag of Texas — same construction, different proportions and layout. Guyana and Suriname, two often-forgotten English- and Dutch-speaking states, close the list.

All 12 flags

Flag	Country	Capital
	Argentina	Buenos Aires
	Bolivia	Sucre
	Brazil	Brasília
	Chile	Santiago
	Colombia	Bogotá
	Ecuador	Quito
	Guyana	Georgetown
	Paraguay	Asunción
	Peru	Lima
	Suriname	Paramaribo
	Uruguay	Montevideo
	Venezuela	Caracas

Frequently asked

How do you tell Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela apart?

By the centre of the flag: nothing for Colombia, a large coat of arms for Ecuador, eight white stars in an arc for Venezuela. The yellow-blue-red bands are identical.

Which flag differs on its front and back?

Paraguay’s: it carries the national arms on one side and the Treasury seal on the other. It is the only such case among national flags.

What does the Brazilian flag represent?

The starry sky over Rio de Janeiro on 15 November 1889, the day the Republic was proclaimed. Each star is a state, and the motto “Ordem e Progresso” comes from Auguste Comte’s positivism.

Do you recognise these flags?

GeoG's Flags mode plays continent by continent: run South America on its own, or all 195 flags of the world.

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