Poland’s plain state flag is a 5:8 horizontal bicolor with equal white and red fields. A separate legally defined version places the national coat of arms in the white field.
Specification
The national-symbols act defines Poland’s colors as white and red in two equal, parallel horizontal bands, white above red. Annex 3 fixes the flag’s 5:8 format. This record follows the normative rendering derived from the act’s color coordinates.
Normative screen rendering
HEX #E9E8E7 / sRGB rendering of statutory coordinatesHEX #D4213D / sRGB rendering of statutory coordinatesConstruction notes
Divide a 5-by-8 rectangle horizontally into two equal fields. The off-white display value above reflects a colorimetric conversion used by the normative asset; it should not be read as a direction to replace the legally named color white with gray in every medium.
Historical record
White and red were formally recognized as national colors in 1831. After independence was restored, the Legislative Sejm approved the modern white-over-red flag on 1 August 1919. The current national-symbols act dates from 1980 and retains the bicolor while specifying its colors and forms.
Source trail
Sejm legal database: consolidated national-symbols act ↗
How to read the screen colors
The values #E9E8E7 and #D4213D describe the existing artwork’s screen rendering of white and red. They are display approximations, not statutory HEX specifications or universal manufacturing colors. The heading “Normative screen rendering” refers to a rendering derived from the act’s color coordinates; the statutory reference is the color specification in Annex 2, rather than these HEX values. The displayed off-white should not be treated as an instruction to manufacture a gray upper band. See the national-symbols act, Article 4 and Annex 2.
The plain flag’s shape
The plain flag shown has two equal horizontal bands: white above red, without a coat of arms. Hoist means height and fly means length, so 5:8 describes a flag five units high and eight units long. Each band occupies half the height. See the national-symbols act, Articles 4 and 6 and Annex 3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Poland’s flag include an eagle?
There are two legally defined forms. The plain white-over-red flag shown here has no eagle or coat of arms. The other form places the national coat of arms, containing the white eagle, in the center of the white band. See the national-symbols act, Articles 2 and 6.