🇧🇳 The colours of Brunei

Brunei’s flag features yellow, white, black, and red. Yellow stands for the monarchy, white and black for the wazirs (royal advisors), and red for bravery and unity. These colours reflect the country's royal traditions and the roles of its senior officials.

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

• Yellow is the traditional royal colour in Southeast Asia.
• White and black stripes stand for Brunei’s two senior wazirs.
• The white stripe is slightly wider than the black to show rank.
• Red in the emblem represents bravery and unity.
• The flag’s design dates back to 1906, with the emblem added in 1959.

The colours of the flag of Brunei

Brunei’s flag is a yellow rectangle crossed by two diagonal stripes, one white and one black, with a red emblem at the centre. The yellow background stands for the monarchy, a tradition shared with other Southeast Asian royal flags. The white and black stripes represent the wazirs, who are high-ranking royal advisors, with the white stripe slightly wider to show the seniority of the First Minister. The red emblem in the centre symbolises bravery and unity. The meanings of these colours are officially recognised and tied to the country’s leadership and history.

How the colours were chosen of Brunei

Before 1906, Brunei used personal banners for the sultan and senior officials rather than a single national flag. When Brunei became a British protectorate in 1906, the current flag design was introduced, using yellow, white, and black to represent the signatories of the agreement. In 1959, after the new constitution, the red national emblem was added to the flag. Since then, only a few descendants of sultans and wazirs have kept personal banners, as the national flag became the main symbol.

Official shades and rules of Brunei

The flag’s proportions are set at 36 inches wide by 72 inches long. The diagonal stripes start 2.5 inches from each corner, with the white band measuring 7.5 inches wide—one inch broader than the black band. The emblem is placed exactly in the centre, 24 inches from each side. The white stripe is about 12% wider than the black, reflecting the seniority of the First Minister.