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

# The flag of Puerto Rico

**The flag of Puerto Rico: Five horizontal stripes, three red and two white, with a blue equilateral triangle at the hoist bearing a white five-pointed star.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1952

The design was created in New York in 1895 by exiled revolutionaries as a mirror of the Cuban flag, and flying it was effectively suppressed under the Gag Law between 1948 and 1957. It was made the official flag of the Commonwealth in 1952 with a much darker blue than the original sky blue, a change widely read as political; the lighter shade is still flown by independence supporters, so the blue you see carries meaning. Both shades are in current use and neither is incorrect. The star stands for the territory itself.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Cuba | Cuba is the same design with blue stripes and a red triangle. |

## 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** (#EF3340) — The blood that sustains the branches of government
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Individual liberty and the rights of man
- **Blue** (#0050F0) — The republican form of government; the triangle's three sides are its three branches

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 1952
- **Colours:** red, white, blue

> Two blues are in simultaneous use: the 1952 official dark blue, around #0050F0, and the original sky blue of the 1895 design, around #6CACE4.

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Puerto Rico look like?

Five horizontal stripes, three red and two white, with a blue equilateral triangle at the hoist bearing a white five-pointed star.

### What do the colours of the Puerto Rico flag mean?

Red: the blood that sustains the branches of government. White: individual liberty and the rights of man. Blue: the republican form of government; the triangle's three sides are its three branches.

### How do you tell the Puerto Rico flag from the Cuba one?

Cuba is the same design with blue stripes and a red triangle.

### When was the Puerto Rico flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1952, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [Puerto Rico](https://atoneplace.net/country/puerto-rico/)
- [The flag of Cuba](https://atoneplace.net/flag/cuba/)
- [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

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)