The flag of Spain
Field and colours only. Not shown: the national coat of arms on the yellow band, towards the hoist.
The unequal bands are the point: Charles III chose the design in 1785 for the navy specifically so Spanish ships could be told apart at a distance from the many mostly-white Bourbon ensigns of the period. The motto PLUS ULTRA inverts a classical warning — the pillars were said to be marked NON PLUS ULTRA, "nothing further beyond" — and Spain removed the "non" once there demonstrably was. The current arms date from 1981; the flag without arms is legal for private citizens and is what fills stadiums.
What the colours mean
- Red
#AA151BFrom the arms of Aragon and Castile - Yellow
#F1BF00From the same heraldic arms; the wider central band
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.
The symbols on it
| What | What it stands for |
|---|---|
| Pillars of Hercules | The Strait of Gibraltar, with the motto PLUS ULTRA — "further beyond", added after the Atlantic crossings |
| Quartered shield | Castile, León, Aragon and Navarre, with Granada below and the Bourbon fleur-de-lis at the centre |
- Ratio
- 2:3
- Current design adopted
- 1981
- Colours
- red, yellow
Common questions
- What does the flag of Spain look like?
- Three horizontal bands of red, yellow and red, the yellow twice the height of each red band, with the coat of arms toward the hoist.
- What do the colours of the Spain flag mean?
- Red: from the arms of Aragon and Castile. Yellow: from the same heraldic arms; the wider central band.
- When was the Spain flag adopted?
- The current design dates from 1981, and its official ratio is 2:3.
Related pages
- Spain Capital, area, population and currency
- Every flag with red in it
- The flag of United States Ratio 10:19
- The flag of United Kingdom Ratio 1:2
- The flag of Canada Ratio 1:2
- The flag of France Ratio 2:3
- The flag of China Ratio 2:3
- The flag of Germany Ratio 3:5
- The flag of Russia Ratio 2:3
- The flag of Italy Ratio 2:3
Sources
- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))