Flag of Kuwait


The flag of Kuwait was adopted on September 7, 1961, and officially hoisted November 24, 1961. Before 1961, the flag of Kuwait was red and white, like those of other Persian Gulf states at the time, with the field being red and words or charges being written in white.
During the period of Ottoman rule in Kuwait, the Ottoman flag, red with a white crescent and star, was used. This flag was retained after the country became a British protectorate in the Anglo-Kuwaiti Agreement of 1899. Two different flag designs were proposed but not adopted in the period after this. The first proposal in 1906, a red flag with white Western letters spelling KOWEIT and the second in 1913, the Ottoman flag but the word كويت in Arabic writing as a canton.
The Ottoman flag kept being used until the First World War, when friendly-fire incidents with the British in 1914 during the Mesopotamian campaign around the river Shatt al-Arab occurred due to Kuwait and the enemy Ottomans both using the same flag. Because of this Kuwait adopted a new flag, red with كويت in Arabic writing. This flag was in use until 1921, when Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah added the Shahada to the flag. This version was in use until 1940, when he also added a stylized falcons claw to the flag. These flags were also depicted on the Emblems of Kuwait. The red flag remained the national flag of Kuwait until the adoption of the current one in September 1961. The present flag is in the Pan-Arab colours, but each colour is also significant in its own right.
Its also similar to the flags of Equatorial Guinea and Iran
SchemeTextile colour
Red The Hashemite dynasty, symbolizes the blood on the swords of Arab warriors.
WhiteThe Umayyad dynasty, symbolizes purity and noble deeds.
Green The Fatimid dynasty, represents the fertile land of Arabia.
Black The Abbasid dynasty, represents the defeat of enemies in battle.

The colours' meaning came from a poem by Safie Al-Deen Al-Hali:
Rules of hanging and flying the flag:
In 2005, it became the design of the world's largest kite at a size of 1019 square metres. It was made in New Zealand by Peter Lynn, launched to the public for the first time in 2004 in the United Kingdom, officially launched in Kuwait in 2005, and has not been surpassed since.

Standard of the Emir

The current Emir of Kuwait is known to have a personal royal standard. The flag of the Emir was the national one with a yellow crown on the green stripe which as used from the 1980s to this day.

Historical flags of Kuwait