Trinidad and Tobago’s national flag is red with a black diagonal edged in white, descending from the upper hoist toward the lower fly. First raised at independence on 31 August 1962, it remains current. The land flag shown here is three units high by five long. [3] [4]
Specification
Chapter 19:04, Schedule Part II, describes a red field with a black diagonal bordered in white. It assigns the combined band width at the upper hoist corner one-fifth of the full flag length; each white border occupies one-sixth of that combined width. The remaining four-sixths is black. There is no added emblem or lettering. [1]
The 2014 National Identity Guidelines give fly-to-hoist ratios of 5:3 on land and 2:1 at sea. This record reverses those into the site’s hoist-to-fly convention. Figure 35 distinguishes the two forms; the displayed land specimen is not a sea-flag production pattern. [2]
Colors
The official names are red, black and white. No flag-specific physical color standard was verified in the consulted sources. The fills below are read from the SVG, not official HEX values or certified textile matches. [1] [7]
#CE1126 / specimen screen value#000000 / SVG default fill#FFFFFF / specimen screen valueConstruction notes
The retrieved SVG uses a 0 0 30 18 viewBox. Its white polygon joins (0,0), (20.824734,18), (30,18) and (9.175266,0). The overlaid black polygon joins (1.52921,0), (22.353945,18), (28.470789,18) and (7.646055,0). Red remains visible on either side. [7]
Measuring perpendicular to the sloping edges gives approximately six units for the combined band, four for black and one for each white border: six is one-fifth of the 30-unit fly. Parallelism and the 1:4:1 split hold to the source coordinates’ rounding precision. These are mathematical checks of the artwork, not additional statutory dimensions.
Measurement convention. The statutory prose does not provide an angle or a coordinate grid. This specimen interprets band width perpendicular to its edges, as explained on the Commons source page. Its top-edge intercept of about 9.175 units is not the six-unit band width. The diagonal slope is about 40.84°; that is derived artwork geometry, not an officially specified angle. Use the cited government guidance for manufacture rather than treating this SVG as a certified master. [1] [7]
Symbols and usage
The Foreign Ministry associates black with dedication, unity and the land’s wealth; red with vitality, sunlight, courage and friendliness; white with the sea, aspiration and equality. Together the colors evoke earth, fire and water. [5]
The guidelines provide for display on government buildings, at state and state-aided schools, and on national occasions. They also explain flag precedence, raising and lowering, and respectful handling. These are protocol instructions, separate from the specimen’s screen values. [2]
Historical record
The Foreign Ministry credits selection to the Independence Committee’s 1962 design process. The National Archives identifies the independence flag raising on 31 August 1962. That documented first-use date begins this record’s period; no separately verified adoption resolution or proclamation day is assigned. [5] [3]
The archived consolidation identifies Act 14 of 1967 and commencement on 1 December 1980. Neither date replaces the flag’s 1962 first use. [1] Act 1 of 2025 amends the arms description in Schedule Part I; it does not replace the flag description in Part II. [6]
Source trail
- National Archives: National Emblems (Regulation) Act, Chapter 19:04 ↗ — Ministry of Legal Affairs consolidation, updated through 31 December 2013 and marked unofficial; section 2, commencement and Schedule Part II. Section 3 vests flag-design copyright in the State in perpetuity.
- Government: National Identity Guidelines, 2014 ↗ — printed pages 41–44, especially Figure 35 on PDF page 50, for description, land/sea proportions and display; later pages cover protocol.
- National Archives: Independence anniversary resource guide ↗ — dated identification of the flag raising on 31 August 1962.
- Office of the President: National Symbols ↗ — current identity, colors, proportions and usage.
- Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs: National Flag ↗ — committee selection in 1962 and official symbolism.
- Parliament: Act 1 of 2025 ↗ — section 4 amends Schedule Part I, not Part II.
- Retrieved SVG: country-flags ↗; Commons geometry, contributor history and public-domain declaration ↗; local asset register and rights distinction →.
Sources checked 15 September 2026. Related records: Jamaica and The Bahamas. Browse national flags or the Flag Index.