---
title: "Flag of Haiti: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Haiti 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/haiti/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Haiti

**The flag of Haiti: Two equal horizontal bands, blue over red, with a white panel at the centre bearing the coat of arms.**

Ratio 3:5 · current design adopted 1986

The traditional account has Jean-Jacques Dessalines tearing the white band out of the French tricolour in 1803 and having the remaining blue and red sewn together — a founding gesture as literal as any flag has. That left Haiti with a bicolour identical to Liechtenstein's, which the two countries discovered at the 1936 Olympics; Liechtenstein added a crown and Haiti did not change. The flag was replaced by a black-and-red version under the Duvaliers and restored in 1986. The white panel with the arms appears on the state flag; the plain bicolour is the civil flag.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein adds a gold crown in the upper hoist and has no central panel. |

## 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.*

- **Blue** (#00209F) — Traditionally Haitians of African descent
- **Red** (#D21034) — Traditionally Haitians of mixed descent; the union of the two
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — The central panel bearing the arms

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Palm with liberty cap | Freedom |
| Cannons, drums and flags | Readiness to defend independence |
| L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE | "Unity makes strength" |

- **Ratio:** 3:5
- **Current design adopted:** 1986
- **Colours:** blue, red, white

## Common questions

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

Two equal horizontal bands, blue over red, with a white panel at the centre bearing the coat of arms.

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

Blue: traditionally Haitians of African descent. Red: traditionally Haitians of mixed descent; the union of the two. White: the central panel bearing the arms.

### How do you tell the Haiti flag from the Liechtenstein one?

Liechtenstein adds a gold crown in the upper hoist and has no central panel.

### When was the Haiti flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1986, and its official ratio is 3:5.

## Related pages

- [Haiti](https://atoneplace.net/country/haiti/)
- [The flag of Liechtenstein](https://atoneplace.net/flag/liechtenstein/)
- [Every flag with blue in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/blue/)
- [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 France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Australia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/australia/)
- [The flag of South Korea](https://atoneplace.net/flag/south-korea/)

## Sources

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