Kuwait

Dawlat-al-Kuwayt, State of Kuwait

Last modified: 2025-02-22 by ian macdonald
Keywords: kuwait | dhow | falcon | trapezoid |
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 1:2 image by Zoltan Horvath, 24 June 2024

• National Flag:
  • Description
  • Meaning
  • Colour Specifications
  • Construction Sheet
  • Legislation
• National Emblem
• Emir's Standard
• Historical Flag and Emblems
  • ?-1899
  • 1899-1909
  • 1909-1915
  • 1915-1956
  • 1956-1961
• Ministry of Defense
• Armed Forces
• Police, Coast Guard and Customs Service
• Fire Service Directorate
• Municipal flags
• Political Parties
• Houseflags of Shipping Companies
• Airline flags
• National Committee for Missing & POWs
• Kuwait Red Crescent Society
• Central Bank of Kuwait
• Sports flags
• Unidentified Flags in Kuwait

See also:

• Flags of Neighboring Countries:
  • Iraq
  • Saudi Arabia
• Gulf Cooperation Council
• League of Arab States (Arab League)
• Pan-Arab Colors

Horizontally divided green-white-red flag with a black trapezoid placed along the hoist. Flag adopted 07 Sep 1961 and officially hoisted 24 Nov 1961; coat of arms adopted in 1963. Used on land as the civil and state flag and at sea as the civil, state, and war ensign. Approximate color specifications (as given in Album des Pavillons [pay00]):

• Red: Pantone 186 c / CMYK (%) C 0 – M 90 – Y 80 – K 5
• Green: Pantone 340 c / CMYK (%) C 100 – M 0 – Y 70 – K 15

contributor unknown, 1998

"Kuwaiti flags came in all shapes and sizes from the establishment of Kuwait until 1961, when on gaining full independence the government decided to replace the old flag with a new design. This was promulgated by a law issued on 7/9/1961 (27 Rabi 1 1381 AH). The first article stipulated that Kuwait's national flag should consist of a horizontal rectangle which is twice as long as it is wide. This is divided into three equal horizontal stripes, the top one being green, the middle white and the bottom red, with the side next to the flag pole forming the base of a black trapezoid protruding into the stripes. The colors of the flag are derived from a poem by Safie Al-Deen Al-Hili."
Source: Kuwaiti Embassy in Japan, pages 1 and 2
Dov Gutterman, 01 Apr 1999 (relinked 2012)

The official explanation refers to the pan-Arab colours:

• White: deeds
• Black: battlefields
• Green: meadows
• Red: soaked with the blood of our enemies

Another explanation says that white signifies honor, black stands for the sand whirled by Kuwaiti horsemen in the battle for freedom, green for the fields and red for gallantry.
Source: Webster's Concise Encyclopedia of Flags & Coats of Arms [mch85]
Jarig Bakker, 21 Jul 1999

The colors of the Kuwaiti flag are an example of the use of the Pan-Arab colors used in the Arab revolt of World War I. According to the sources quoted there, the Pan-Arab colors represent the following:

• Red – either the Kharwarij sect, or the Sharifin (i.e. Hashemite) family
• Green – the Fatimid dynasty
• White – the Ummayad dynasty
• Black – either the prophet Mohammed, or the Abbasid dynasty

Colour Specifications

The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012 [loc12]) provides recommendations for national flag designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag, including the PMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs may not be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC believed the flag to be.
For Kuwait: PMS 340 green, 186 red and black. The vertical flag is simply the horizontal version turned 90 degrees clockwise. The NOC is marked as 'suspended at publication date'.
Ian Sumner, 10 October 2012

The Flag Manual - Beijing 2008 gives Pantone colors: PMS 032 (red), PMS 355 (green), and PMS Black.

The Album des Pavillons 2000 [pay00] (Corr. No. 5.) gives approximate colors in Pantone and CMYK systems:
Red: Pantone 186c, CMYK 0-90-80-50
Green: Pantone 340c, CMYK 100-0-70-15

The Album des Pavillons 2023 already specifies the colors of the flags in three color systems.
Blue: Pantone Blue c, CMYK 100-91-24-7, RGB 0-20-67
Blue: Pantone 540c, CMYK 100-84-38-28, RGB 0-47-93
Red: Pantone 186c, CMYK 10-100-74-2, RGB 210-16-52
Yellow: Pantone Yellow c, CMYK 0-0-100-0, RGB 255-255-0
Green: Pantone 340c, CMYK 83-15-76-2, RGB 0-148-96

Vexilla Mundi gives colors in Pantone system: PMS 361C (green), PMS 186C (red), PMS White, and PMS Black.

Wikipedia gives a construction sheet, but doesn’t give any color values.
The Italian Version (https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandiera_del_Kuwait) gives RGB values:
Black 0-0-0, Green 0-122-61, White 255-255-255, Red 206-17-38

Flag Color Codes gives the following color values:
Green: Hex #007A3D, RGB 0-122-61, CMYK 100-0-81-0, Pantone 340, RAL 6029
White: Hex #FFFFFF, RGB 255-255-255, CMYK 0-0-0-0, Pantone N/A, RAL N/A
Red: Hex #CE1126, RGB 206-17-38, CMYK 0-100-80-5, Pantone 186, RAL 3028
Black: Hex #000000, RGB 0-0-0, CMYK 0-0-0-100, Pantone Black, RAL 9005

Zoltan Horvath, 24 June 2024

image by Željko Heimer

Source: Album des Pavillons [pay00] and Law #26 on the flag.

from https://www.iflkuwait.com, located by Esteban Rivera, 20 January 2025

The State of Kuwait gained its independence in 1961. Shortly after, the Council of Ministers tasked the Ministry of Guidance and News (now the Ministry of Information) with creating an emblem symbolizing Kuwait’s past, present, and future. This emblem would be adopted by the newly independent state. In 1962, Mohammed Husni Zaki, a designer in the Ministry of Guidance and News, designed the emblem that is now recognized as the official emblem of the State of Kuwait.

Before Kuwait’s independence, the country utilized various forms of emblems to represent its identity. The current emblem of the State of Kuwait incorporates key symbols from previous versions such as the Kuwaiti dhow Boom, the falcon, and the sea waves. The ship depicted in the emblem is the Boom, a uniquely Kuwaiti dhow that symbolizes the nation’s maritime heritage, resilience, and the ingenuity, craftsmanship, and seafaring skills that have shaped Kuwait’s rich history and cultural identity. The bird depicted in the emblem is a falcon, a large and powerful bird highly regarded in Kuwaiti culture for its fierceness, speed, agility, and strength. The emblem features a falcon (Saker) with its wings spread in a full circle above its head, gazing sharply ahead. The Saker falcon symbolizes the state’s strength and prowess. Within the circle, there is a stretch of sea waves with an old Kuwaiti dhow (Boom) sailing across it. The sea and the dhow represent the country’s location on
the Arabian Gulf and its long-standing traditions of seafaring and shipbuilding. At the base of the emblem is a shield bearing the official flag of Kuwait. Within the emblem is the title of the country, ‘Dawlat Al-Kuwait,’ signifying that Kuwait is a fully independent Arab state.

The official national seal consists of the emblem and the name of the country in Arabic and English.
The colors are
Gold: Pantone 7407C; CMYK 8-29-71-9; RGB 203-160-82
Sky Blue: Pantone 2171C; CMYK 61-21-0-0; RGB 98-163-211
Blue: Pantone 2387C; CMYK 91-60-0-0; RGB 7-98-200
White: Pantone White; CMYK 0-0-0-0; RGB 255-255-255
Red: Pantone 186C; CMYK 0-100-80-5; RGB 200-16-46
Green: Pantone 347C; CMYK 92-0-97-0; RGB 0-154-68
Black: Pantone Black 6C; CMYK 75-68-69-90; RGB 0-0-0

The National Color Kuwait Blue: "As the official color of Kuwait, blue has long represented the country’s identity, seen in its blue passport, national football team, and geographical location along the Gulf."
The color is:
Kuwait Blue: Pantone 286C; CMYK 100-80-0-10; RGB 0-51-160
Source: "Visual identity of the State of Kuwait" Version 1.0, November 2024 (https://media.gov.kw/Visual_Identity_of_the_State_of_Kuwait.aspx, located by Víctor García, 20 January 2025)
Esteban Rivera, 20 January 2025