El Salvador’s flag—blue, white, blue with the national coat of arms centred—was readopted on 17 May 1912, honouring the Central American triband. Blue recalls the Pacific and Caribbean; white denotes peace. The arms show a triangle with five volcanoes, Phrygian cap, rainbow, and five flags. Laws fix proportions, hues, and usage; a civil flag omits the arms.
El Salvador’s national flag returns to the colours of the United Provinces of Central America while bearing its own republican heraldry. The blue–white–blue horizontal triband, readopted on 17 May 1912, standardised proportions and the centred coat of arms for state contexts, with a civil version omitting the arms.
The nineteenth century brought numerous emblematic experiments as governments rose and fell. Ultimately, the country reaffirmed the blue of surrounding seas and skies and the white of peace as core civic colours. The coat of arms within the central stripe presents an equilateral triangle of equality over two oceans, five volcanoes for the five historic states, a staff crowned by a red Phrygian cap for liberty, a rainbow for peace, and rays of sun—all encircled by the legend “República de El Salvador en la América Central” and five flags.
Statutes define proportion (historically near 189:335), colour references, crest drawings, and usage contexts: ministries, courts, armed forces, and missions abroad fly the flag with arms; citizens may use the civil flag without arms. Protocol addresses precedence with foreign flags, half‑masting for national mourning, nocturnal illumination, and dignified retirement. In schools, weekly ceremonies teach handling and salutes, and the flag dominates Independence Day on 15 September.
Refinements across the twentieth century harmonised armorial details while preserving the basic scheme. Today the banner’s clear geometry and heraldic centre render it instantly recognisable at home and in diaspora communities, where the flag anchors identity at civic events and international sport.