Flag of Trinidad and Tobago - wikipedia Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago Name Flag of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago The Sun - Sea - Sand Banner Use National flag Proportion 3 : 5 Adopted 31 August 1962 Design A red field with a white - edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist - side to the lower fly - side. Variant flag of Trinidad and Tobago Name Civil ensign of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Use Civil and state ensign Proportion 1 : 2 Design A red field with a white - edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist - side to the lower fly - side. Variant flag of Trinidad and Tobago Name Naval ensign of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Use Naval ensign Proportion 1 : 2 The flag of Trinidad and Tobago was adopted upon independence from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1962. Designed by Carlisle Chang ( 1921 -- 2001 ), the flag of Trinidad and Tobago was chosen by the independence committee of 1962. Red, black and white symbolise fire ( the sun, representing courage ), earth ( representing dedication ) and water ( representing purity and equality ). Contents 1 Design 2 Construction 3 Other flags 3.1 British colonial flag 4 See also 5 References Design Trinidadian flags flying at the University of the West Indies in Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago The flag of Trinidad and Tobago is a red field with a white - edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist - side to the lower fly - side. In blazon, Gules, a bend Sable fimbriated Argent. Construction The flag of Trinidad and Tobago flying at the San Fernando Hill, San Fernando in July 2009. The width of the white stripes is ​ ⁄ of the flag length and the width of the black stripe is ​ ⁄. The total width of the three stripes together is therefore ​ ⁄ of the length. Other flags The civil ensign is the national flag in a 1 : 2 ratio. The naval ensign ( used by coast guard vessels ) is a British white ensign with the national flag in the canton. Presidential Standard Prime Minister 's Standard Queen Elizabeth II 's personal Trinidadian flag ( 1966 -- 1976 ) British colonial flag Prior to independence from the United Kingdom in August 1962, Trinidad and Tobago used a British blue ensign defaced with a circular badge depicting a ship arriving in front of a mountain. Colonial flag of Trinidad and Tobago ( 1889 - 1962 ) Red ensign of Trinidad and Tobago ( 1889 - 1962 ) See also Flag of the West Indies Federation ( January 1958 -- May 1962 ) Coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago References Jump up ^ `` Carlisle Chang '' Archived 2016 - 09 - 11 at the Wayback Machine., Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Jump up ^ `` National flag of Trinidad and Tobago - Carlisle Chang '', YouTube. Jump up ^ Carlisle Chang biography Archived 2015 - 07 - 11 at the Wayback Machine., NALIS. Jump up ^ National Flag ``. Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved May 12, 2017. Jump up ^ Flagspot Flags of North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda 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 Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Navassa Island Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands National flags and coats of arms National flags Sovereign states Dependent territories Timeline National coats of arms Sovereign states Dependent territories Heraldry portal Trinidad and Tobago articles History Spanish missions French invasion of Tobago ( 1781 ) British invasion of Trinidad ( 1797 ) Independence Act Social unrest Geography Cities and towns Dry forests Natural history Islands Rivers Wildlife Politics Administrative divisions Attorney General Chief Justice Elections Foreign relations Head of State Human rights Military Parliament Politics Political parties President Prime Minister Economy Dollar ( currency ) Telecommunications Transportation Society Crime Demographics Education Health Religion Culture Cuisine Flag Literature Media Music Public holidays Outline Index Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flag_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago&oldid=814968523 '' Categories : Flags introduced in 1962 National symbols of Trinidad and Tobago National flags Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use British English from October 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া মণিপুরী Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Lietuvių Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Plattdüütsch Polski Português Русский Scots Shqip Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Yorùbá 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 11 December 2017, at 23 : 22. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what does the red white and black flag mean
Answer: symbolise fire (the sun, representing courage), earth (representing dedication) and water (representing purity and equality)