National Flag of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1985)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is situated in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea and comprises the island of St Vincent and some of the northern islands of the of the Grenadines group.

St Vincent obtained self-government from their former colonial ruler, Great Britain, in 1969 and received full independence on the 27th of October 1985. 

The basic blue-yellow-green vertical striped design of the current national flag was adopted in 1979.

On the 22nd of October 1985, just prior to independence, three green lozenges placed in a V pattern replaced the flag’s original emblem.

The Symbolic Meaning

Blue represents the sea and sky. Yellow symbolises the island’s golden sands and the ever-present Caribbean sunshine, as well as the warmth of the St Vincentians. Green represents St Vincent’s luxuriant vegetation and the vigour of its people.

The lozenges or diamonds create a stylised V, connoting the island’s name and provide the flag with its nickname, ‘the gems’