Guyana’s Golden Arrowhead has a green field, a white-bordered gold triangle extending toward the fly, and a black-bordered red triangle at the hoist. First raised at independence on 26 May 1966, it remains the national flag. The illustrated land version is 3:5. [1] [3]
Specification
Article 4 names the national flag “The Golden Arrow Head” and refers to the Second Schedule. Its heraldic description specifies a green field with a gold pile edged white and an overlying red pile edged black, sharing the hoist base. Here, a pile is a tapering triangular figure and an edging is a fimbriation. [1]
Colors
The schedule names colors without providing verified modern textile or ink references. These fills are read from the local SVG and are screen approximations, not official HEX values, Pantone conversions or physical production standards. [1] [6]
#009E49 / specimen screen value#FCD116 / specimen screen value#CE1126 / specimen screen value#FFFFFF / specimen screen value#000000 / specimen screen valueConstruction notes
Flags of the World reports an outer triangle reaching the fly midpoint and an inner triangle, including its black border, reaching the flag’s center. Neither edging continues along the hoist. Its contributors distinguish observed manufacture and remembered reference specifications from a verified construction sheet. [5]
The inspected SVG has a 0 0 500 300 viewBox. The white outer triangle joins (0, 0), (500, 150) and (0, 300); the black triangle shares that base and ends at (250, 150). Gold joins (0, 13.05), (456, 150), (0, 286.95); red joins (0, 17.5), (220.85, 150), (0, 282.5). All triangles are symmetric about y=150. These are rounded asset coordinates, not prescribed dimensions. [6]
Unresolved area figures. The constitutional transcription has a malformed color-proportions line and omits red. It cannot safely define border widths. [1] The Ministry of Education’s teaching table also gives a 50/24/16/6/4 percent allocation for green/gold/red/white/black; that gives red plus black only 20%, conflicting with a triangle extending to the center, which occupies 25%. [4] [5] The specimen matches the named arrangement, land ratio and reported midpoint construction; its border widths are retained as a reference rendering, without claiming compliance with those area figures.
The 1:2 sea flag is a separate proportion specified in the schedule. This 3:5 image should not be used as its production pattern. [1]
Symbols and usage
The Ministry of Education associates green with agriculture and forests, white with rivers and water, gold with mineral wealth, black with endurance, and red with zeal and the energy of nation-building. Its learning material credits Whitney Smith and teaches respectful handling of the flag. [4]
The Department of Public Information’s 2026 independence coverage and the President’s 2026 Republic Anniversary address document continued ceremonial use of the Golden Arrowhead. [3] [7]
Historical record
The Department of Public Information dates the first raising to 26 May 1966, the independence date. This record uses that verified first-use date; no separate design-approval or proclamation day is assigned. [3]
The Constitution (Amendment) (No. 4) Act 2001, Act No. 6, amended article 4 to refer expressly to the Second Schedule. Its parliamentary scan includes the national-flag material on printed page 14. This later constitutional action is not the flag’s first adoption. [2]
Source trail
- Constitution of Guyana, revised through 2016, via Constitute ↗ — article 4 and Second Schedule, PDF pages 4 and 91. Text consulted; the color-area line is corrupted and the illustration is absent from this transcription.
- Parliament: Act No. 6 of 2001 ↗ — section 3(a), schedule and passage date. Text retrieved; the scan’s flag illustration could not be visually resolved in this review, so no border measurements are inferred from it.
- Department of Public Information: independence anniversary coverage, 16 May 2026 ↗ — first raising and continuing national use.
- Ministry of Education: Social Studies Made Easy, revised edition ↗ — printed page 163 (PDF page 175): national flag, design attribution, symbolism, color-area table and respect for the flag.
- Flags of the World: Guyana ↗ — midpoint construction and unresolved competing specifications. Contributor observations are identified as such.
- Retrieved SVG: country-flags ↗; Commons rights and contributor history ↗; local asset register →.
- Office of the President: Republic Anniversary flag raising, 23 February 2026 ↗ — current ceremonial use.
Sources checked 15 September 2026. Related records: Brazil and Jamaica. Browse national flags or the Flag Index.