---
title: "Flag of Marshall Islands: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Marshall Islands flag stands for, its official 10:19 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/marshall-islands/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Marshall Islands

**The flag of Marshall Islands: A dark blue field crossed by two diagonal stripes — orange over white — widening as they rise from the lower hoist to the upper fly, with a large white 24-pointed star in the upper hoist.**

Ratio 10:19 · current design adopted 1979

The widening diagonal is a deliberate depiction of the equator with the archipelago rising above it, which makes this one of the few flags that encodes its country's latitude. The star has 24 points, four of them extended for Majuro, Ebeye, Jaluit and Wotje. It was designed by Emlain Kabua, the first president's wife, and adopted at self-government in 1979. The 10:19 ratio matches the United States flag, a legacy of the trusteeship period.

## 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** (#003893) — The Pacific Ocean
- **Orange** (#DD7500) — The Ratak, or sunrise, chain of islands; also courage
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — The Ralik, or sunset, chain; also peace

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| 24-pointed star | The 24 municipal districts; four longer rays mark the main population centres |
| The rising stripes | The equator, and the islands' position just north of it |

- **Ratio:** 10:19
- **Current design adopted:** 1979
- **Colours:** blue, orange, white

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Marshall Islands look like?

A dark blue field crossed by two diagonal stripes — orange over white — widening as they rise from the lower hoist to the upper fly, with a large white 24-pointed star in the upper hoist.

### What do the colours of the Marshall Islands flag mean?

Blue: the Pacific Ocean. Orange: the Ratak, or sunrise, chain of islands; also courage. White: the Ralik, or sunset, chain; also peace.

### When was the Marshall Islands flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1979, and its official ratio is 10:19.

## Related pages

- [Marshall Islands](https://atoneplace.net/country/marshall-islands/)
- [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)]