Flag of Thailand

The flag of Thailand is a beautiful symbol with five horizontal stripes. The colors are red, white, blue, white, and red again, with the blue stripe in the middle being twice as wide as the others. This special design was chosen on 28 September 1917 by a king named Rama VI.

The colors of the flag have important meanings. Red stands for the land and the people of Thailand, white represents religions, and blue is for the monarchy, which was a favorite color of Rama VI. The flag was changed around the time Thailand declared war on Germany, and it now shares the same colors as flags from countries like the UK, France, Russia, and the United States.

Since 2016, the day the flag was adopted is celebrated as an important national day in Thailand, showing how much the flag means to the country. It reminds everyone of the nation-religion-king idea that is important in Thailand.

Design

The Flag Act of BE 2522 (1979) describes the Thai flag as a rectangle that is 6 parts wide and 9 parts long. It has five horizontal stripes: red, white, blue, white, and red. The blue stripe in the middle is twice as wide as the other stripes.

The Thai flag looks very similar to the Flag of Costa Rica because both have five horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue, with the center stripe being twice as thick. The only difference is the order of the colors.

Colour standards

In 2017, Thailand officially set the colors for the flag. These colors help make sure all flags look the same.

• .svg)

  Using official CMYK colors

Construction Sheet

• .svg)

  flag construction sheet

History

The first flag used for Siam was probably a plain red one, used when Narai was king from 1656 to 1688. Later, ships used different symbols on a red background, like a white chakra or a special elephant called the Airavata.

In 1855, Mongkut, also known as Rama IV, made an official flag with a white elephant on a red background. This was because a plain colored flag was not clear enough for international use.

In 1916, the flag changed to show a white elephant wearing special royal clothes. That same year, a new design was made, but the middle color was the same red as the outer stripe. Legend says that Vajiravudh, or Rama VI, was upset when he saw the elephant flag turned upside down by mistake. Because of this, he decided to create a flag that looked the same on both sides.

At first, in 1916 and 1917, the flag had five horizontal stripes of red and white. Later in 1917, the middle stripe was changed to dark blue. This blue color was special because it was the lucky color for the day Vajiravudh was born. Some believe the blue was also chosen to show support for the Allies of World War I, whose flags also used the colors blue, red, and white.

Historical national flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	c. 1680 – c. 1782	National ensign during late Ayutthaya and Thonburi periods	A red plain rectangular flag.
	c. 1782–1855	Civil ensign prior to 1855
	c. 1782 – c. 1817	State and naval ensign decreed by Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I)	Red flag with a white chakra, presumably to represent the Chakri dynasty.
	c. 1817–1855	Change instituted by Phutthaloetla Naphalai (Rama II)	Red flag with a white elephant inside the chakra.
	c. 1843–1855	Alternative civil ensign from 1843 to 1855	A white elephant, facing the hoist, centred on a red field. Thai: ธงช้างเผือก (Thong Chang Puak)
	1855–1893	National ensign decreed by Mongkut (Rama IV)
	1893–1916	Civil ensign until 1916
	1893–1898	State and naval ensign, to be displayed defaced with the flyer's emblem on the upper hoist corner	A white elephant in regalia, facing the hoist, centred on a red field
	1898–1912	State and naval ensign
	1912–1917	State flag and ensign, decreed by Vajiravudh (Rama VI)
	1916–1917	Civil ensign	Red flag with two horizontal white stripes one-sixth wide, one-sixth from the top and bottom
	1917–present	National flag, civil and state ensign	Flag with horizontal blue stripe one-third wide between white stripes one-sixth wide, between red stripes one-sixth wide, known as the Trairanga.

Maritime flags

The naval ensign of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) is the national flag with a red circle in the middle that reaches as far as the red stripes at the top and bottom. In the circle stands a white elephant, in full caparison, facing the hoist. The kingdom's naval jack is the national flag defaced with the emblem of the Royal Thai Navy in the middle. The regimental colours of the RTN is as same as this flag; both ensigns were adopted in 1917.