Flag of Belize

Flag origins

Belize’s flag has a blue field with red bands above and below and a coat of arms inside a white disc. The arms center on forestry and timber, once the foundations of the economy. The large tree is mahogany, a major industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The shield shows logging tools, including an axe, saw, hewing axe and paddle, with a sailing ship below representing the trade that carried timber overseas. The two supporters are specified as a Mestizo Belizean and an African Belizean. One holds an axe and the other a paddle, representing those who cut and worked wood and those who transported it along rivers. The Latin motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO means “Under the shade I flourish,” another reference to forests and mahogany.

Flag story

Two human figures occupy a prominent position in Belize’s flag, an unusual feature among national flags. Guinness World Records identifies its two figures as the largest number of people depicted on a national flag.

Editorial notes and references

Edited by ABELHA WORKS. The English text translates the administrator-edited Japanese description. Legends should be distinguished from documented history. General reference links do not substantiate every statement in the text.

• Belize — general information on Wikipedia
• Japan MOFA: countries and regions (Japanese)

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