Antigua and Barbuda’s national flag places a golden rising sun above blue and white within red sides forming a V. Adopted on 27 February 1967, it remains the national flag. [1] The specimen uses reference proportions of two units high to three long. [2]
Specification
The government calls the emblem the National Flag and describes a seven-point golden sun, red, blue, black and white, and a V associated with victory. [1] The specimen has red side triangles surrounding an inverted triangle with black above blue above white. [3]
Legal description: no original adoption instrument, separate proclamation date or statutory blazon was verified during this research. Government recognition establishes the identity documented here; the reference grid below is not presented as legislation.
Colors
Government names gold, rather than prescribing a numerical yellow shade. [1] FOTW reports differing Album and Olympic color recommendations; neither is established here as a domestic manufacturing standard. [2] These fills are read from the downloaded SVG. They are screen approximations, not official HEX values or certified textile colors. [3]
#CE1126 / specimen screen value#000000 / specimen screen value#FCD116 / specimen screen value#0072C6 / specimen screen value#FFFFFF / specimen screen valueConstruction notes
The inspected SVG viewBox is 0 0 138 92, exactly 2:3. The red overlay leaves a central triangle joining (0,0), (138,0) and (69,92). Its horizontal color boundaries are y=36 and y=56, giving black, blue and white vertical extents of 36:20:36 along the centerline, equivalent to 18:10:18. The bands narrow within the triangle; these numbers describe heights, not areas. [3]
The sun is centered at (69,36). A gold triangle from (−30,0) to (0,−5.742) to (0,5.742), in local coordinates, is repeated at 22.5-degree intervals from 0 to 180 degrees. The blue band masks its lower portion, leaving seven complete upward rays and two horizontal half-rays at the horizon. The top ray reaches y=6. The layout is symmetric about x=69. These are inspected artwork measurements, not official sun dimensions. [3]
FOTW attributes 18:10:18 band heights to the Album, but explicitly identifies its sun dimensions as an approximation and records another unsourced construction. This specimen agrees with the band proportions and government ray count; its sun outline remains reference artwork. [2]
Symbols and usage
Government associates the sun with a new era; red with ancestral sacrifice and the people’s energy; blue with hope; and black with the soil and African heritage. Gold, blue and white evoke sun, sea and sand, while the V expresses victory. [1]
FOTW identifies national use on land and civil use at sea, and separately records a Coast Guard ensign. This national specimen does not represent that service flag. The exact commencement of maritime use was not independently verified. [2]
Historical record
Government dates Samuel’s design to 1966 and adoption to 27 February 1967. [1] Adoption marked associated statehood; independence followed on 1 November 1981. The design continued in use. FOTW reproduces a museum account reporting a 1994 clarification that seven full sun points should appear after inconsistent renderings; no primary instrument for that clarification was retrieved. It is not assigned a replacement-flag date here. [2]
Source trail
- Government Information Service: National Symbols ↗ — official designation, current recognition, 1966 designer attribution, adoption date, colors and meanings.
- Flags of the World: Antigua and Barbuda ↗ — specialist reference; Album-derived proportions, explicitly approximate sun construction, competing color guidance, usage and historical reports. Museum account consulted through this transcription; its original link now serves unrelated tourism content.
- Retrieved SVG: country-flags ↗; repository provenance and public-domain declaration ↗; Commons contributor history and rights ↗; local asset register →.
Sources checked 15 September 2026. Related records: Barbados and The Bahamas. Browse national flags or the Flag Index.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the flag adopted in 1967 when independence came in 1981?
The flag was adopted on 27 February 1967 to mark associated statehood. Independence followed on 1 November 1981, and the design continued in use. The dates refer to different historical milestones.
How can the sun have seven complete rays and two horizontal half-rays?
The government describes a seven-point golden sun. In the specimen, seven complete rays rise above the horizon, while two horizontal rays are partly masked by the blue band, leaving two half-rays. Those half-rays are not additional complete upward points. This explains the inspected artwork; its sun dimensions are not a verified official construction standard.
Are the specimen’s HEX colors official manufacturing specifications?
No. The HEX values are screen approximations taken from the downloaded SVG. The government names the colors, including gold, without prescribing numerical shades in the supplied evidence. FOTW reports differing Album and Olympic color recommendations, neither established in this record as a domestic manufacturing standard. A physical color standard was not verified.