Spain Flag

The Spanish flag — La Rojigualda — has three horizontal stripes: red (top), yellow (middle, double height), and red (bottom). The yellow stripe is twice the height of each red stripe, giving proportions of 1:2:1.

A version of the coat of arms is centred on the yellow stripe, slightly towards the hoist. The civil flag omits the shield. The official red is a deep crimson (Pantone 1795 C) and the gold a bright amber-yellow (Pantone 116 C).

Charles III introduced the distinctive red-and-yellow scheme in 1785 to make Spanish warships identifiable at sea — many nations used the white ensign of the Bourbons, causing confusion. The new "Rojigualda" (red-yellow) stood out from a distance.

The flag has survived various political upheavals — republic, dictatorship, and monarchy — with changes to the shield rather than the colour scheme. The current coat of arms, including the Pillars of Hercules, was adopted in 1981 under the post-Franco constitutional monarchy.