Flag of Portugal

Country

Flag of Portugal uses vertical bicolour with an armillary sphere and shield. Ratio 2:3 and current adoption June 30, 1911.

Hoist Ratio 2:3 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of Portugal
Entity Type	Country
Official Name	Portuguese Republic
Identifier	PT / PRT
Region	Southern Europe

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	June 30, 1911
First Documented Use	1911
Proportion	2:3
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	Green, Red, Yellow
Construction	Vertical bicolour with an armillary sphere and shield
Common Name	A Bandeira das Quinas

Documented Colour Values

Colour	HEX	RGB	CMYK
Green	#046A38	4, 106, 56	96, 0, 47, 58
Red	#DA291C	218, 41, 28	0, 81, 87, 15
Yellow	#FFE900	255, 233, 0	0, 9, 100, 0

Design and Symbolism

Green	hope.
Red	the blood of those who died serving the nation.
Yellow	the armillary sphere.
Armillary sphere	The navigational instrument of the Age of Discovery.
Seven castles	The castles taken from the Moors.
Five shields	The five Moorish kings defeated by Afonso I, and the five wounds of Christ.

Proportions

Ratio	2:3
Hoist	2 units
Fly	3 units

About the Flag of Portugal

Vertical bicolour with an armillary sphere and shield The recorded proportion is 2:3. Within this library it is grouped with vertical bicolour with an emblem designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for Portugal is Green (#046A38), Red (#DA291C) and Yellow (#FFE900). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

Armillary sphere: The navigational instrument of the Age of Discovery; Seven castles: The castles taken from the Moors; Five shields: The five Moorish kings defeated by Afonso I, and the five wounds of Christ.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1911. The adoption field for the present record is June 30, 1911.

Additional flag context

The armillary sphere behind the shield is a navigational instrument, marking the age of Portuguese exploration.

The seven castles on the shield represent fortresses taken from the Moors, and the five small shields are traditionally linked to a twelfth-century battle.

The green was introduced in 1911 with the republic; the older monarchical flag was blue and white.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Vertical bicolour with an armillary sphere and shield, a 2:3 proportion and the visible armillary sphere. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — Portugal — Specialist vexillological reference

Other vertical bicolour with an emblem flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of Portugal

Portugal is recorded as vertical bicolour with an armillary sphere and shield.
The reference proportion for the flag of Portugal is 2:3.
The stored palette for Portugal contains Green, Red and Yellow.
The adoption field for this country flag record is June 30, 1911.
The design record traces first use to 1911.
Its construction is grouped with the vertical bicolour with an emblem design family in this library.
Armillary sphere: The navigational instrument of the Age of Discovery.
Seven castles: The castles taken from the Moors.
The armillary sphere behind the shield is a navigational instrument, marking the age of Portuguese exploration.
The seven castles on the shield represent fortresses taken from the Moors, and the five small shields are traditionally linked to a twelfth-century battle.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of Portugal

What does the flag of Portugal look like?

Vertical bicolour with an armillary sphere and shield, with a recorded proportion of 2:3.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of Portugal?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 2:3.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of Portugal?

The reference palette lists Green #046A38, Red #DA291C and Yellow #FFE900.

What do the symbols on the flag of Portugal represent?

Armillary sphere — The navigational instrument of the Age of Discovery. Seven castles — The castles taken from the Moors. Five shields — The five Moorish kings defeated by Afonso I, and the five wounds of Christ.

When was the present flag record for Portugal adopted?

The adoption field in this record is June 30, 1911.

Which design family does the flag of Portugal belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with vertical bicolour with an emblem designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.

Where can I verify information about the flag of Portugal?

The verification-source section on this page links to an official, governmental or specialist reference used to check the underlying record. Source wording is not copied into the article.