What is the design of Trinidad and Tobago’s flag?
It has a red field crossed by a black diagonal band bordered in white.
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago
Selected from designs prepared for independence in 1962, the flag combines a red field with a white-edged black diagonal band.
Current flag
Flag emoji 🇹🇹
Trinidad and Tobago
Flag facts
Information about the flag’s design, colours and proportions.
- Proportion
- 3:5 height: width
Flag design
- Layout
- Diagonal bands
- Number of bands
- 3
- Details
- Unequal-width bands and Fimbriated element
- Colours
- Red, white, and black
Sources
A diagonal band across a red field
The National Identity Guidelines describe a black diagonal band bordered in white on a red field. They set a 5:3 proportion for flags flown on land and 2:1 for flags flown at sea, so the context matters when comparing flag shapes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains the colours through the country’s stated national symbolism: black for dedication and unity, red for vitality and courage, and white for the sea, heritage, purity of aspiration and equality. The three colours also represent earth, water and fire.
Frequently asked questions
What proportions are used for the flag?
The official guidelines give 5:3 for flags flown on land and 2:1 for flags flown at sea.
What do the flag’s colours represent?
Official guidance associates black with dedication and unity, red with vitality and courage, and white with the sea, heritage and equality.
Sources
Country facts
- Type
- Country
- Name
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Continent
- North and Central America
- Capital
- Port of Spain
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
- TT
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
- TTO
- ISO 3166-1 numeric
- 780
- Top-level domain
- .tt
- Area
- 5,128 km²
- Population
- 1,367,764 (2025)
- Currency
- TTD
- Calling code
- ++1-868
Flags with a similar layout
These flags come from the same region and share one or more design characteristics.
Historical flags: Trinidad and Tobago (1498–)
Images are ordered by the years listed in the collection. A listed year may not be the flag’s official adoption year.
About historical flags
Vexilla's historical flag collection includes former flags associated with present-day countries and territories, as well as flags of states, empires, and other authorities that historically governed them.
A flag's inclusion in a country's historical collection does not necessarily mean that the country was independent at the time or that the flag was its own national flag.
The years shown are based on historical records in the dataset and do not always indicate the date of official adoption. The collection is not exhaustive, and historical usage, territorial coverage, and interpretations may vary.