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

# The flag of Nauru

**The flag of Nauru: A blue field with a narrow gold horizontal stripe across the centre and a white twelve-pointed star below it, toward the hoist.**

Ratio 1:2 · current design adopted 1968

The flag is a map: the gold stripe is the equator, and the star sits exactly where Nauru sits relative to it — below the line and toward the western side. Very few flags are geographically literal in this way, and Nauru's is the most precise. It was adopted at independence in January 1968, after a design competition won by a local firm. The twelve points correspond to the twelve tribes, two of which are now extinct.

## 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** (#002B7F) — The Pacific Ocean
- **Gold** (#FFC61E) — The equator
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — The star, and the phosphate the island was mined for

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Twelve-pointed star | The twelve original tribes of Nauru |
| Position of the star | The island's actual location, just south of the equator and west of the date line |

- **Ratio:** 1:2
- **Current design adopted:** 1968
- **Colours:** blue, gold, white

## Common questions

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

A blue field with a narrow gold horizontal stripe across the centre and a white twelve-pointed star below it, toward the hoist.

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

Blue: the Pacific Ocean. Gold: the equator. White: the star, and the phosphate the island was mined for.

### When was the Nauru flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1968, and its official ratio is 1:2.

## Related pages

- [Nauru](https://atoneplace.net/country/nauru/)
- [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)]