The flag of the United Nations is the official banner of the world organisation founded after the Second World War. Adopted on 20 October 1947, it features the UN emblem — a polar azimuthal map of the world wreathed in olive branches — centred on a light blue field.
The design
The Flag of the United Nations is a national emblem rendered in the colours and proportions defined by the country’s flag law. Its official aspect ratio is 2:3, the height-to-length ratio that fixes how the flag should be cut and flown. The colour scheme uses light blue, white, with each shade specified to particular Pantone or RGB values for official reproduction.
Colour palette
| Colour | Name | Common symbolism |
|---|---|---|
| Light blue | light blue | A nationally significant colour for this flag — see the symbolism section below for the country-specific meaning. |
| White | white | Commonly represents peace, purity, honesty or snow-capped landscapes. |
| Source | Official flag law | The country’s own statute or constitutional appendix specifies exact shades and proportions. |
Symbolism & heraldry
A pale blue field — chosen as "the opposite of red", a colour explicitly distinct from war — surrounds a white emblem of the world map projected from the North Pole, wreathed in olive branches. The polar projection puts every continent at an equal distance from the centre, and the olives carry the classical Mediterranean meaning of peace.
Heraldic elements on the Flag of the United Nations — bands, charges, emblems or stars — each carry meaning agreed at the moment of the flag’s adoption. Re-readings happen across generations: a colour or a symbol that began with one meaning often picks up further layers as the country’s history unfolds.
Adoption & history
The current flag was adopted in 1947-10-20. It is credited to Donal McLaughlin (emblem); flag adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 167 (II). Earlier banners flown by reflected the politics of their day; each redesign typically marked a moment of independence, regime change or constitutional reform. The current flag was chosen, debated and codified through the country’s official channels and is now protected by flag law.
Etiquette & protocol
The Flag of the United Nations should be flown with respect: never allowed to touch the ground, never used as drapery for ceremonies it was not made for, and lowered or removed at sundown unless illuminated. When flown alongside other national flags, it takes precedence on home soil and is hoisted first and lowered last. On days of national mourning, the flag is flown at half-mast in line with directives from the head of state. These conventions are common to most nations and are usually written into the flag’s founding statute.
Specifications
| Field | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Country | — | |
| Continent | International | — |
| ISO alpha-2 | 2-letter code | |
| ISO alpha-3 | 3-letter code | |
| Adopted | 1947-10-20 | year of current design |
| Proportion | 2:3 | height : length |
| Colours | light blue, white | — |
| Designer | Donal McLaughlin (emblem); flag adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 167 (II) | — |
| Emoji | 🇺🇳 | Unicode codepoint sequence |
Did you know?
The blue (Pantone 279) was specifically chosen so the UN flag would not resemble any national flag, and remains the only flag with a strictly defined non-national hue.
About the organisation
UN was founded in 1945. Its headquarters are in usa-state/new-york/" data-it-autolink="1">New York, United States.
Member states
193 member states (nearly every sovereign state in the world; non-members include Vatican City and Palestine, both of which hold permanent observer status)
