Dominican Republic Flags – Dominican Flag, Bunting & Hand Flags

The Dominican flag: a white cross, blue and red, and a Bible

The flag of the Dominican Republic is a white cross dividing the field into four rectangles, blue at the top hoist and bottom fly, red at the top fly and bottom hoist, with the national coat of arms at the centre of the cross. It was designed by Juan Pablo Duarte and the secret society La Trinitaria and first raised on 27 February 1844, the day independence from Haiti was declared, by taking the blue and red of the Haitian flag and laying a white cross across them; the present arrangement of the colours was fixed on 6 November 1844. Blue stands for liberty and the sky, red for the blood of the patriots, white for salvation and peace. The arms show a shield in the same colours bearing an open Bible with a small gold cross above it, flanked by laurel and palm branches, with a blue ribbon reading Dios, Patria, Libertad above and a red ribbon with the name of the republic below; the Bible is open at the Gospel of John, and this is the only national flag to show one. The ratio is 5:8, and the civil flag omits the arms. Our Dominican Republic flag is the full version with the arms printed in detail at the crossing.

27 February, Restoration Day and merengue

Independence Day on 27 February closes the Dominican carnival season, with the biggest parades in Santo Domingo and La Vega, and Restoration Day on 16 August marks the 1863 rising against Spanish rule; Flag Day itself is also 27 February, and Duarte’s birthday on 26 January is a holiday. Dominicans in Britain are a smaller community than in New York or Madrid, concentrated in London, where the flag comes out for the Carnaval del Pueblo, for Dominican Independence celebrations and in the bachata and merengue nights of the Latin music scene. Baseball, not football, is the national sport, and the flag flies for the Dominican players who fill Major League rosters and for the national team’s 2013 World Baseball Classic title; athletics adds Félix Sánchez’s two Olympic 400m hurdles golds and Marileidy Paulino’s 400m gold in 2024, and the volleyball team, the Reinas del Caribe, is another regular carrier of the colours.

Which size and grade

The Dominican Republic flag comes in 20x12in, 3ft x 2ft, 5ft x 3ft and 8ft x 5ft and in two grades. Flagtex is a printed woven polyester for a party, a bar or a few weeks on a pole; DuraFlag is the knitted heavyweight with a double-stitched hem for a pole flown all year. 5ft x 3ft is the pole and bar size, 3ft x 2ft the window or wall bracket, 8ft x 5ft the stage or carnival-float backdrop, 20x12in the car or hand pole. Each grade has a sewn header and two brass eyelets, and the DuraFlag is also available with clips or a rope and toggle.

Dominican Republic bunting

Dominican Republic bunting is sold in 3m and 9m lengths of rectangular polyester pennants printed with the flag and arms, sewn to a tape. 3m suits a doorway or a bar top for 27 February; 9m goes round a hall for a merengue night or along a float. The pennants are weatherproof polyester and runs can be tied together for a longer line. Plain blue, red and white from the bunting range fill out a run.

Hand flags and table flags

Dominican Republic hand flags on wooden sticks come in 9x6in and 18x12in for the parade and the baseball screening. The Dominican Republic table flag is a 6x4in flag on a base for a desk, the 9x6in wooden table flag and the 18x12in large wooden table flag suit a reception or a restaurant counter, and the sleeved satin table flag is for a formal table. Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica are under world flags.

Dominican flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Dominican Republic Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, 2 grades)from £6.99
• Dominican Republic Bunting (3m or 9m)from £9.98
• Dominican Republic Hand Flagsfrom £5.99
• Dominican Republic Table Flag with Basefrom £1.98
• Dominican Republic Large Wooden Table Flagfrom £3.98