---
title: "Flag of Cyprus: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Cyprus flag stands for, its official 3:5 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted. Plus the flags it gets mistaken for."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/cyprus/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Cyprus

**The flag of Cyprus: A white field with a copper-coloured silhouette of the island above two crossed green olive branches.**

Ratio 3:5 · current design adopted 1960

Cyprus and Kosovo are the only countries that put a map of themselves on their flag. The 1960 constitution required the flag to use neither blue and white nor red and white — the colours of Greece and Turkey — and to show no cross or crescent, which left copper and olive as almost the only options. The island's name and the word copper share a root, so the colour is a pun on the country's name. The design came from a competition won by the art teacher İsmet Güney, a Turkish Cypriot.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Kosovo | Kosovo's field is blue, its map is gold, and it has six white stars instead of olive branches. |

## What the colours mean

*Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.*

- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Peace, deliberately chosen as a neutral field
- **Copper** (#D57800) — The island's copper deposits, which gave it its name
- **Green** (#4E5B31) — The olive branches, for peace between the two communities

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Map of Cyprus | The island itself, in the copper colour of its ancient mines |
| Olive branches | Peace between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities |

- **Ratio:** 3:5
- **Current design adopted:** 1960
- **Colours:** white, copper, green

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Cyprus look like?

A white field with a copper-coloured silhouette of the island above two crossed green olive branches.

### What do the colours of the Cyprus flag mean?

White: peace, deliberately chosen as a neutral field. Copper: the island's copper deposits, which gave it its name. Green: the olive branches, for peace between the two communities.

### How do you tell the Cyprus flag from the Kosovo one?

Kosovo's field is blue, its map is gold, and it has six white stars instead of olive branches.

### When was the Cyprus flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1960, and its official ratio is 3:5.

## Related pages

- [Cyprus](https://atoneplace.net/country/cyprus/)
- [The flag of Kosovo](https://atoneplace.net/flag/kosovo/)
- [Every flag with white in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/white/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [The flag of India](https://atoneplace.net/flag/india/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of Japan](https://atoneplace.net/flag/japan/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]