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

# The flag of Slovakia

**The flag of Slovakia: Three equal horizontal bands of white, blue and red, with a shield bearing a white double cross on three blue hills, set toward the hoist of centre.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1992

Slovakia flew the plain tricolour in the nineteenth century and added the shield in 1992, on independence, specifically because the plain version is the Russian flag. The shield is not centred: it sits slightly toward the hoist so it stays visible when the flag hangs slack. The double cross is one of the oldest continuously used Christian emblems in central Europe and appears in Hungarian heraldry too, reflecting the shared medieval kingdom. Slovenia solved the identical problem the same year with a differently placed emblem, which is why the two flags now resemble each other more than either resembles Russia.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Slovenia | Slovenia's emblem is in the top hoist corner and shows a mountain and stars. |
| Russia | Russia has no shield. |

## 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) — Pan-Slavic; also the double cross
- **Blue** (#0B4EA2) — Pan-Slavic; also the three hills
- **Red** (#EE1C25) — Pan-Slavic; also the shield field

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Double cross | The patriarchal cross of Saints Cyril and Methodius |
| Three hills | The Tatra, Fatra and Mátra mountain ranges |

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 1992
- **Colours:** white, blue, red

## Common questions

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

Three equal horizontal bands of white, blue and red, with a shield bearing a white double cross on three blue hills, set toward the hoist of centre.

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

White: pan-Slavic; also the double cross. Blue: pan-Slavic; also the three hills. Red: pan-Slavic; also the shield field.

### How do you tell the Slovakia flag from the Slovenia one?

Slovenia's emblem is in the top hoist corner and shows a mountain and stars.

### When was the Slovakia flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1992, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [Slovakia](https://atoneplace.net/country/slovakia/)
- [The flag of Slovenia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/slovenia/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [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 Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)

## Sources

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