🇰🇭 The colours of Cambodia
3 meanings recorded, 2 colours tied to the country.
Cambodia’s flag uses blue, red, and white, with blue standing for the king, red for the nation, and white for Angkor Wat, the country’s iconic temple. These colours are deeply rooted in Cambodian tradition and history, reflecting both national identity and monarchy.
Where no official value is given, the swatch shows the colour family, not the exact shade.
- Blue stands for the king, red for the nation.
- Angkor Wat has appeared on Cambodian flags since about 1875.
- The current flag was readopted in 1993 after the monarchy was restored.
- Cambodia’s flag is one of only four national flags to feature a building.
- Earlier flags sometimes outlined Angkor Wat in red, now it is outlined in black.
The colours of the flag of Cambodia
The Cambodian flag is made up of two blue stripes at the top and bottom, with a wider red stripe in the centre. In the middle of the red band sits a white image of Angkor Wat, outlined in black. Blue is said to represent the king, while red stands for the nation. The white Angkor Wat symbolises the famous temple, a central image in Cambodian culture. These meanings are rooted in tradition and are widely recognised, though not set out in law.
National colours of Cambodia
Blue and red are described as the traditional colours of Cambodia. They appear not only on the flag but also in other national symbols, such as the Royal Standard of the King. The Royal Standard is considered a national symbol, but the sources do not specify further uses of these colours in sports or other state settings.
How the colours were chosen of Cambodia
Since about 1875, Cambodian flags have featured Angkor Wat. The current design, with blue borders and a central red band, was first adopted in 1948 after World War II. Over the years, several other flags were used, often during times of political change, but most kept the Angkor Wat image. The flag returned to its 1948 form in 1993, following the restoration of the monarchy. Earlier versions sometimes outlined Angkor Wat in red rather than black.
Official shades and rules of Cambodia
The flag’s design calls for blue stripes on the top and bottom, each half the width of the central red band, with Angkor Wat in white at the centre. The sources do not provide official shade specifications or detailed proportions beyond the 1:2:1 ratio for the stripes.
The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Flag of Cambodia", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
What colours mean in Cambodia
Customs vary by region, faith and family; these are the meanings most often recorded.
Buddhist monks in saffron and orange robes walk out each morning to collect food. Most Khmer men traditionally spent some time as a monk.
Sacred and holyCalmSource: Kasaya (clothing)The flag has blue bands above and below a red one, with Angkor Wat in white. Blue stands for the king, red for the nation and white for religion.
Royalty and powerPolitics and protestSource: Flag of CambodiaAt a funeral the family wear white, and the children of the dead may shave their heads. White is the colour of mourning, as in much of the region.
Mourning and deathGriefSource: MourningColours tied to Cambodia
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Gamboge: Maša Sinreih in Valentina Vivod, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Catechu: Shaik Jaber Al-Shihab, CC BY-SA 4.0, source