Saudi Arabia’s current national flag is green with the Shahada in white above a white sword. It has a hoist-to-fly ratio of 2:3. The official Flag Day account commemorates approval on 11 March 1937; the 1973 law is a later legal milestone. [1] [2]
Specification
The national flag’s legal description specifies a green rectangle, the central declaration of faith, and an unsheathed sword parallel beneath it. Both white devices must be clear on both sides. The official English account shows the sword hilt on the right in the illustrated face. [2] [1]
The inscription is لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله, the Islamic declaration of faith affirming one God and Muhammad as His messenger. Preserve its calligraphy and readability; a mirrored image is not a substitute for the opposite face. This record represents the national flag. [1]
| Element | Official guidance |
|---|---|
| Hoist : fly | 2:3 |
| Inscription | Thuluth calligraphy |
| Sword length | ¾ of the inscription’s length, horizontally centered beneath it |
| Standard sizes, hoist × fly | 100 × 150, 80 × 120, 20 × 30, and 16 × 24 cm |
Construction and sizes follow the Ministry of Culture guide, pages 8–9. [3]
Physical and digital colors
The guide’s page 10 calls the field emerald green and the devices snow white. It lists green as Pantone Fabric 19-6026 TCX, Pantone 3425C, CMYK 89/15/97/56, and digital RGB 0/84/48 (HEX #005430). These are medium-specific references, not interchangeable physical measurements. [3]
#005430 / RGB 0, 84, 48#FFFFFF / RGB 255, 255, 255White’s SVG fill is a display value, not a verified textile reference. Screens and ratio calculators do not replace physical standards or approved production artwork.
Construction notes
The inspected SVG has viewBox 0 0 900 600. Its first path fills the entire rectangle; five white compound paths draw the inscription and sword. At this scale the inscription occupies approximately x=225–675, y=150–300; the sword occupies approximately x=281–619, y=413–450. Its approximately 338-unit span agrees, to rounded vector precision, with three-quarters of the roughly 450-unit inscription span. The composite device occupies the central portion of the field.
The retrieved vector’s paths are preserved. Only descriptive metadata and the green fill have changed: #006C35 became #005430 to follow the published digital guidance. The retained calligraphy is a reference rendering; exact glyph contours, fine positioning, sewing allowances, and textile tolerances have not been certified against a manufacturing master. No new geometric symmetry or designer attribution is inferred. [6]
Historical record
The Saudi Press Agency identifies 11 March 1937 as King Abdulaziz’s approval of the flag’s present form. A royal order in 2023 established the annual Flag Day on that anniversary. This commemorative date should not be replaced by the date of the later flag law. The agency associates the flag with monotheism, justice, strength, development, and prosperity; these are official interpretations, separate from its construction rules. [4]
Dating the legislation
Royal Decree M/3 is dated 10 Safar 1393 AH. WIPO Lex gives 15 March 1973; the Ministry’s English guide agrees. Saudipedia’s Arabic account instead converts the same Hijri date to 5 March 1973. The record retains the Hijri date and year as its primary legal date, and records the conflicting Gregorian conversions without treating them as two enactments. Exact commencement is not independently established here. [2] [3] [5]
Earlier forms belong to their own historical periods. The present specimen illustrates the continuing national design under the 1973 framework, not every flag used before it.
Use and display
The official portal identifies this as the Kingdom’s national flag and distinguishes the monarch’s flag by its added state emblem. The latter is a separate design. [1] The Ministry’s guide prohibits half-masting and requires respectful handling without contact with ground or water. [3] WIPO’s law summary identifies restrictions on trademark and commercial advertising use. [2]
Source trail
- Ministry of Culture: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Flag ↗ — current identity, approval anniversary, description, and distinction from the royal flag.
- Bureau of Experts: Flag Law ↗ — indexed Arabic legal description and decree; full page timed out. WIPO Lex SA036 ↗ — decree date and law summary; linked full-text PDF was unavailable.
- Ministry of Culture: 2023 English flag guideline ↗ — pages 3, 8–10, and 15; law reference, construction, colors, and display.
- Saudi Press Agency: Saudi National Flag, 10 March 2023 ↗ — 1937 approval, Flag Day order, and official interpretation.
- Saudipedia: Saudi Flag Law ↗ — conflicting Gregorian conversion, retained explicitly rather than silently harmonized.
- Local asset provenance, rights, modifications, and checksum → — inspected Commons-derived vector retrieved through country-flags.
Sources checked 13 September 2026. Unresolved: Gregorian conversion of the decree date, independent commencement verification, and detailed manufacturing conformity. No individual designer is assigned.
Related records: Pakistan and Turkey. Browse national flags or the Flag Index.