---
title: "Flag of Portugal: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Portugal flag stands for, its official 2:3 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/portugal/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Portugal

**The flag of Portugal: A green band at the hoist covering two-fifths and a red band covering three-fifths, with an armillary sphere and the national shield over the join.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1911

*[Flag drawn on the page: Portugal]*

The armillary sphere is the giveaway detail: it is a real astronomical instrument, and putting a piece of navigation equipment at the centre of a national flag is a specific claim about the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The bands are deliberately unequal, at two-fifths green to three-fifths red, so the emblem sits on the division rather than in the middle of the flag. Green had no monarchical association, which is precisely why the 1910 republic chose it over the blue and white of the kingdom. The design was fiercely contested at the time and passed by a commission that included the writer Abel Botelho and the painter Columbano.

## 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.*

- **Green** (#046A38) — Hope, and the colour of the 1910 republican movement
- **Red** (#DA291C) — The blood of those who died for the nation

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Armillary sphere | A navigational instrument, for the voyages of discovery; the emblem of King Manuel I |
| Seven castles | Fortresses taken from the Moors |
| Five shields with five dots | Traditionally the five Moorish kings defeated at Ourique, and the five wounds of Christ |

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 1911
- **Colours:** green, red

## Common questions

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

A green band at the hoist covering two-fifths and a red band covering three-fifths, with an armillary sphere and the national shield over the join.

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

Green: hope, and the colour of the 1910 republican movement. Red: the blood of those who died for the nation.

### When was the Portugal flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1911, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [Portugal](https://atoneplace.net/country/portugal/)
- [Every flag with green in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/green/)
- [The flag of India](https://atoneplace.net/flag/india/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)
- [The flag of Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/flag/mexico/)
- [The flag of Ireland](https://atoneplace.net/flag/ireland/)
- [The flag of South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/flag/south-africa/)
- [The flag of Jamaica](https://atoneplace.net/flag/jamaica/)
- [The flag of Pakistan](https://atoneplace.net/flag/pakistan/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]