How many stars appear on the flag of Venezuela?

Eight stars appear on the current flag of Venezuela. They form a curved arc across the blue stripe between the yellow and red bands.

The stars have a historical connection to Venezuela’s independence. Seven stars originally represented the provinces that supported the 1811 declaration of independence: Caracas, Cumaná, Barcelona, Barinas, Margarita, Mérida, and Trujillo. In 1817, Simón Bolívar ordered an eighth star added for the province of Guayana after it was incorporated into the republic.

For long periods, Venezuelan flags used seven stars, so older images and references can create uncertainty. The eighth star returned to the national flag in 2006, following President Hugo Chávez’s announcement that the design should honor Bolívar’s 1817 decree. The current flag also retains the yellow, blue, and red tricolor associated with Venezuela’s independence movement. The state flag includes the national coat of arms, while the civil flag displays the star arc without it.