🇧🇪 The colours of Belgium

Belgium’s flag shows three vertical stripes: black, yellow, and red. These colours come from historic heraldry and symbolise the lions of different regions. The flag’s design and order of colours have changed since independence, but today’s version is set by law.

Where no official value is given, the swatch shows the colour family, not the exact shade.

• Belgium’s flag has three vertical stripes: black, yellow, and red.
• The colours represent lions from different Belgian regions.
• The flag’s proportions are 13:15, not the usual 2:3.
• Earlier flags used different colours, including red, white, and yellow.
• The flag’s current design dates from 1831.

The colours of the flag of Belgium

The Belgian flag is made up of three vertical bands in black, yellow, and red, with black always next to the flagpole. These colours are officially recognised as national symbols. Each one stands for a heraldic lion from a different region: black for Flanders and Namur, yellow for Brabant, and red for Hainaut, Limburg, and Luxembourg. The meanings are rooted in regional coats of arms and are part of the country’s tradition, rather than being set out in law.

National colours of Belgium

Belgium’s national colours—black, yellow, and red—appear not just on the flag but also in military and government symbols. For example, naval and government ensigns use these colours in different patterns, sometimes with extra symbols like crowns or lions. The royal standard and military flags also use the same three colours, linking them to the monarchy and armed forces.

How the colours were chosen of Belgium

Belgium’s colours have their origins in medieval heraldry, especially the lions of several regions. Earlier flags used red, white, and yellow, or featured Spanish colours when under foreign rule. During the revolution in 1830, a horizontal tricolour of red, yellow, and black was first used. The modern flag, with vertical stripes and the current colour order, was set in 1831, though the constitution lists the colours in a different sequence.

Official shades and rules of Belgium

The flag’s official proportions are 13 units tall to 15 units wide, which is unusual among national flags. Each stripe is exactly one third of the flag’s width. The yellow is a true yellow, not gold. There are different versions for use at sea and by the government, but the national flag’s design is fixed by protocol.