---
title: "Flag of Monaco: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Monaco flag stands for, its official 4:5 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted. Plus the flags it gets mistaken for."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/monaco/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Monaco

**The flag of Monaco: Two equal horizontal bands, red over white, on a near-square flag.**

Ratio 4:5 · current design adopted 1881

*[Flag drawn on the page: Monaco]*

The colours come straight from the Grimaldi coat of arms, which has used red and white lozenges since the thirteenth century, making Monaco's claim to the combination the oldest of the three countries that fly it. The difference from Indonesia is proportional only: 4:5 against 2:3, which on a flagpole reads as "squarer". Monaco also has a state flag carrying the full Grimaldi arms on white, used by the palace. The country is small enough that its flag is more often seen at Grand Prix and in yacht harbours than anywhere else.

## Flags it gets confused with

*[Flag drawn on the page: Monaco, Indonesia, Poland]*

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

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Indonesia | Identical colours and order; Indonesia is longer at 2:3 against Monaco's 4:5. |
| Poland | Poland is white over red — the same flag upside down. |

## 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.*

- **Red** (#CE1126) — From the heraldic colours of the House of Grimaldi
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — The second Grimaldi colour

- **Ratio:** 4:5
- **Current design adopted:** 1881
- **Colours:** red, white

## Common questions

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

Two equal horizontal bands, red over white, on a near-square flag.

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

Red: from the heraldic colours of the House of Grimaldi. White: the second Grimaldi colour.

### How do you tell the Monaco flag from the Indonesia one?

Identical colours and order; Indonesia is longer at 2:3 against Monaco's 4:5.

### When was the Monaco flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1881, and its official ratio is 4:5.

## Related pages

- [Monaco](https://atoneplace.net/country/monaco/)
- [The flag of Indonesia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/indonesia/)
- [The flag of Poland](https://atoneplace.net/flag/poland/)
- [Every flag with red in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/red/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of China](https://atoneplace.net/flag/china/)
- [The flag of Germany](https://atoneplace.net/flag/germany/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)

## Sources

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