The UAE’s national flag has a red vertical hoist band and green, white, and black horizontal bands, in that order from top to bottom. Its height is half its fly length. It was first raised on 2 December 1971 at the declaration of the federation. [1]
Specification
The Cabinet’s 2023 guide restates Federal Law No. 2 of 1971, as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2019: red occupies the quarter of the flag nearest the staff; the remainder comprises three equal horizontal rectangles. No emblem or inscription appears on this national design. [2]
Colors: published guidance and specimen
The Government Media Office web guide gives the following references. Pantone values concern a specified color system; RGB values concern digital display. Neither certifies a finished textile. [3]
| Color | Web guide reference | Web guide RGB | Local SVG fill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Pantone 186 C | 200, 16, 46 | #C8102E |
| Green | Pantone 348 C | 0, 132, 61 | #00843D |
| White | Pantone White | 225, 225, 225 | #FFFFFF |
| Black | Pantone Black C | 0, 0, 0 | #000000 |
The 2023 PDF’s color panel instead prints red HEX #E8102C, white #FFFFFF, and Pantone Black 6 C; it agrees on green #00843D and black #000000. The web guide’s white RGB differs from the PDF and specimen. These differences are retained rather than silently corrected. The unchanged Commons specimen follows the web RGB for red and green and uses pure white. A manufacturer should resolve the applicable approved palette with the issuing authority; this specimen is not a production master. [2] [3] [6]
Construction notes
On a 12 × 6 editorial coordinate grid, draw a red rectangle x=0–3 across the full height. Fill x=3–12 with green at y=0–2, white at y=2–4, and black at y=4–6. This is a scale conversion of the published fractions, not a prescribed physical size. The inspected SVG uses four overlapping rectangles to produce exactly these visible regions. [2] [6]
The red band is therefore half the hoist height in width, not one-third of it. FOTW records narrower red-band illustrations as erroneous representations, not a demonstrated historical replacement. Its construction sheet corroborates the quarter-fly rule. [4]
Historical record
Dubai’s Protocol Department credits Abdulla Mohammed Al Ma’enah with the winning competition design and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan with its first raising. It links the colors to a poem by Safi-u-ddin Al Hali: white deeds, green plains, dark battles, and red swords. This is the documented design inspiration, separate from the geometric specification. [1]
FOTW dates Unionist Decision No. 4 to 2 December 1971 and the subsequent Federal Law No. 2 to 21 December 1971. Thus the first raising and the later law are distinct milestones. Its translation of Article One is explicitly unofficial; the current government guide independently confirms the geometry. The federal legislation portal’s full text could not be retrieved during this review, so exact commencement is not independently certified here. [4] [5]
Use and display
This flag represents the federation at official and public events, including international occasions. [1] Government guidance places red at the observer’s left in horizontal display and at the top in vertical display. It prohibits adding devices and distinguishes the President’s emblem-bearing flag as a separate design reserved for that office. [3]
Source trail
- Protocol Department – Dubai: The United Arab Emirates Flag ↗ — current identity, first raising, designer, inspiration, and use.
- UAE Cabinet: 2023 flag guidebook ↗ — printed pages 3–4 (geometry and amended-law reference) and 6 (color panel); PDF pages 8–9 and 11.
- UAE Government Media Office: Visual Identity Guidelines, The UAE Flag ↗ — composition, color references, and display guidance; differs from the 2023 PDF.
- Flags of the World: Specifications and Construction Sheet ↗ — dated legal milestones, explicitly unofficial translation, and red-band comparison.
- UAE Legislation: Federal Law No. 2 of 1971 Concerning the Union Flag ↗ — official legal reference; indexed title verified, full text unavailable during review.
- Specimen provenance and rights → — Commons vector, geometry inspection, and checksum.
Sources checked 13 September 2026. Outstanding specification questions: conflicting color references and independent verification of the law’s commencement. Geometric proportions are corroborated.
Related records: Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Browse national flags or the Flag Index.