North America’s flag story runs in two very different directions. The Stars and Stripes and Canada’s Maple Leaf are some of the most recognizable flags on earth, each built around a single bold symbol. Head south into Central America, though, and a quieter pattern takes over: several countries still carry the two blue stripes and white band of the old Federal Republic of Central America, a 19th-century union that dissolved long ago but never fully left its members’ flags behind.
Below, every country’s flag in the region, linked through to the full story behind each one.
Antigua and Barbuda · The Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago · United States