---
title: "Flag of Poland: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Poland flag stands for, its official 5:8 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted. Plus the flags it gets mistaken for."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/poland/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Poland

**The flag of Poland: Two equal horizontal bands, white over red.**

Ratio 5:8 · current design adopted 1919

*[Flag drawn on the page: Poland]*

The flag is a heraldic banner rather than a design: white for the eagle and red for its field, which is why the white must be on top — the charge always sits above its field. Flying it the other way up produces Indonesia's flag, and Polish law treats the inversion as a defacement of the national symbol. The red is legally specified in CIE tristimulus coordinates rather than a Pantone chip, which is unusually precise and still produces two visibly different reds in the wild. The state flag adds the crowned eagle to the white band and may only be used by government bodies and abroad.

## Flags it gets confused with

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

*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 | Indonesia is red over white — Poland inverted. |
| Monaco | Also red over white, and nearly square at 4:5. |

## 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.*

- **White** (#FFFFFF) — The white eagle of the Polish coat of arms
- **Red** (#DC143C) — The red field the eagle stands on

- **Ratio:** 5:8
- **Current design adopted:** 1919
- **Colours:** white, red

## Common questions

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

Two equal horizontal bands, white over red.

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

White: the white eagle of the Polish coat of arms. Red: the red field the eagle stands on.

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

Indonesia is red over white — Poland inverted.

### When was the Poland flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1919, and its official ratio is 5:8.

## Related pages

- [Poland](https://atoneplace.net/country/poland/)
- [The flag of Indonesia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/indonesia/)
- [The flag of Monaco](https://atoneplace.net/flag/monaco/)
- [Every flag with white in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/white/)
- [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 Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of Japan](https://atoneplace.net/flag/japan/)
- [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/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)