🇭🇷 The colours of Croatia

Croatia’s flag features three horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue, with a central coat of arms showing a red and white checkerboard. These colours represent historical regions and are linked to pan-Slavic identity and Croatian national pride.

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

• The flag’s red, white, and blue are pan-Slavic colours.
• The checkerboard shield is a key Croatian symbol.
• The flag has been in use since 1868, with changes during the 20th century.
• The modern flag was officially adopted in December 1990.

The colours of the flag of Croatia

The Croatian flag is made up of three equal horizontal stripes: red at the top, white in the middle, and blue at the bottom. In the centre sits the national coat of arms, which features a red and white checkerboard pattern. The red, white, and blue colours are drawn from the historical flags of Croatia’s regions and are also pan-Slavic colours, widely recognised as symbols of Slavic unity and national pride. The meanings of these colours are rooted in history, with red and white linked to Croatia and Slavonia, and blue to Slavonia and Dalmatia.

How the colours were chosen of Croatia

Croatia’s tricolour flag dates to 1848, when the red, white, and blue stripes were first used as a symbol of romantic nationalism and pan-Slavic unity. The colours combine elements from the flags of the Kingdoms of Croatia (red and white), Slavonia (blue and white), and Dalmatia (blue and yellow). Over time, the flag changed under different regimes: the checkerboard shield was added in 1939, replaced by a red star during communist rule, and restored with a crown above the shield in 1990, just before Croatia’s independence.

Official shades and rules of Croatia

The flag’s design is defined by three equal horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue, with the coat of arms placed centrally. The sources do not specify exact shades or proportions beyond equal stripe size. The current flag and coat of arms were officially adopted in December 1990.