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

# The flag of Moldova

**The flag of Moldova: Three equal vertical bands of blue, yellow and red, with the national coat of arms — an eagle holding a cross, with an aurochs head on its shield — on the yellow.**

Ratio 1:2 · current design adopted 1990

Until 2010 the arms appeared only on the obverse and the reverse was a plain tricolour, which made Moldova one of a tiny handful of flags that were genuinely different on their two sides. A 2010 decree put the arms on both faces, leaving Paraguay alone in that category. The 1:2 ratio distinguishes it from Romania at 2:3 even before the arms are visible. It is also one of the few national flags with a hoist-to-fly ratio that changed after adoption: the original 1990 flag was 1:2, was briefly drawn at 2:3 in practice, and the 2010 rules settled it.

## Flags it gets confused with

*[Flag drawn on the page: Romania, Chad]*

*Drawn at each flag’s own official ratio, which is itself the difference in some of these pairs.*

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Romania | Romania has no coat of arms on its flag and is squarer at 2:3. |
| Andorra | Andorra's arms are a quartered heraldic shield with a mitre and cattle, not an eagle. |
| Chad | Chad has no arms at all and a darker blue. |

## 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** (#0046AE) — Shared with Romania; the colours of the Moldavian principality
- **Yellow** (#FFD200) — The central band, bearing the arms
- **Red** (#CC092F) — The fly band

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Aurochs head | The historic emblem of Moldavia, with a star, a rose and a crescent |
| Eagle with cross | Taken from the Romanian arms, reflecting shared heritage |

- **Ratio:** 1:2
- **Current design adopted:** 1990
- **Colours:** blue, yellow, red

## Common questions

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

Three equal vertical bands of blue, yellow and red, with the national coat of arms — an eagle holding a cross, with an aurochs head on its shield — on the yellow.

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

Blue: shared with Romania; the colours of the Moldavian principality. Yellow: the central band, bearing the arms. Red: the fly band.

### How do you tell the Moldova flag from the Romania one?

Romania has no coat of arms on its flag and is squarer at 2:3.

### When was the Moldova flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1990, and its official ratio is 1:2.

## Related pages

- [Moldova](https://atoneplace.net/country/moldova/)
- [The flag of Romania](https://atoneplace.net/flag/romania/)
- [The flag of Andorra](https://atoneplace.net/flag/andorra/)
- [The flag of Chad](https://atoneplace.net/flag/chad/)
- [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

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]