BELIZE

BELIZE - The flag is royal blue, with a white disc at the centre containing the national coat of arms held by a mestizo and a man of African descent. The flag of Belize is the only country to have humans depicted as a major design element on its national flag, although the flag of Malta contains an image of Saint George on the badge of the George Cross, and the flags of British overseas territories Montserrat and the Virgin Islands, and that of French Polynesia also depict humans.

Several other countries' flags have human body parts depicted. The flag of Brunei has human hands, and the flags of Uruguay and Argentina both have human facial features depicted in a personified sun. The flag is bordered at top and bottom by two red stripes. In all, the flag incorporates 19 different colours and shades, making it one of the most colourful national flags in the world.

The colours on the flag are respectively those of the country's national parties, the People's United Party (PUP), and United Democratic Party (Belize) (UDP). The UDP, established in 1973, had objected to the original blue and white design, those two colours being the PUP's representative colours. The two red stripes at the top and bottom were added to the original design at independence. The coat of arms was granted in 1907. Red stripes were added to denote the colour of the opposition party. The 50 leaves recall 1950, the year PUP came to power.