---
title: "Flag of Kuwait: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Kuwait flag stands for, its official 1:2 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted. Plus the flags it gets mistaken for."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/kuwait/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Kuwait

**The flag of Kuwait: Three equal horizontal bands of green, white and red, with a black trapezoid at the hoist spanning the full height.**

Ratio 1:2 · current design adopted 1961

The four colours and their meanings are taken from a couplet by the thirteenth-century poet Safi al-Din al-Hilli, which is the source of the Pan-Arab colour scheme generally, and Kuwait cites it directly. The black shape at the hoist is a trapezoid rather than a triangle, which is what separates it at a glance from Jordan, Palestine, Sudan and the UAE. It replaced a red flag with the word Kuwait in white on independence in 1961. The flag has an official geometry with the trapezoid occupying exactly one quarter of the length.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| United Arab Emirates | The UAE has a red vertical rectangle at the hoist and bands of green, white and black. |
| Palestine | Palestine has a red triangle, not a black trapezoid. |

## 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.*

- **Green** (#007A3D) — The fertile land
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — The purity of Kuwaiti deeds
- **Red** (#CE1126) — The blood on Kuwaiti swords
- **Black** (#000000) — The defeat of the enemy

- **Ratio:** 1:2
- **Current design adopted:** 1961
- **Colours:** green, white, red, black

## Common questions

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

Three equal horizontal bands of green, white and red, with a black trapezoid at the hoist spanning the full height.

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

Green: the fertile land. White: the purity of Kuwaiti deeds. Red: the blood on Kuwaiti swords. Black: the defeat of the enemy.

### How do you tell the Kuwait flag from the United Arab Emirates one?

The UAE has a red vertical rectangle at the hoist and bands of green, white and black.

### When was the Kuwait flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1961, and its official ratio is 1:2.

## Related pages

- [Kuwait](https://atoneplace.net/country/kuwait/)
- [The flag of United Arab Emirates](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-arab-emirates/)
- [The flag of Palestine](https://atoneplace.net/flag/palestine/)
- [Every flag with green in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/green/)
- [The flag of India](https://atoneplace.net/flag/india/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)
- [The flag of Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/flag/mexico/)
- [The flag of Ireland](https://atoneplace.net/flag/ireland/)
- [The flag of South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/flag/south-africa/)
- [The flag of Jamaica](https://atoneplace.net/flag/jamaica/)
- [The flag of Pakistan](https://atoneplace.net/flag/pakistan/)

## Sources

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