Introduction
The flag of the Falkland Islands is a British Blue Ensign with the territory arms in the fly: a white ram standing above a sailing ship on the sea.
Meaning & Symbolism
The two charges are the two things the islands have lived on. The ram is wool, which was the economy for a century and a half. The ship is the Desire, the vessel of John Davis, who sighted the islands in 1592.
The motto below reads Desire the Right, which is a pun on the name of that ship.
History of the Falkland Islands Flag
The present arms date from 1948 and the flag has flown since 29 September of that year. An earlier badge showed the ship alone.
The islands are claimed by Argentina as the Islas Malvinas, and the sovereignty dispute led to the war of 1982. The flag is flown alongside the Union Jack on official buildings.
Curiosities
- The motto Desire the Right puns on the name of the ship Desire, which sighted the islands in 1592.
- The ram is there for wool, which was the whole economy of the islands for about 150 years.
- Argentina claims the islands as the Islas Malvinas, and the dispute led to the 1982 war.
- An earlier version of the badge had the ship but no ram.
- Squid fishing licences have long since overtaken wool as the main source of island revenue.
Download Flag
Download the flag of Falkland Islands in high-quality SVG vector format or PNG raster images. SVG files can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
Digital icon artwork; its proportions may differ from the official flag proportions listed on this page.