Thailand’s national flag has five horizontal stripes. From top to bottom, they are red, white, blue, white, and red.
Known as the Trairanga, meaning “tricolour flag,” the design was adopted in 1917 during the reign of King Vajiravudh, or Rama VI. Although it uses three colors, it has five stripes because the white and red bands appear on both sides of the wide central blue band.
The central blue stripe is twice as wide as each of the four outer stripes, making the flag visually distinctive. The colors are commonly associated with nation, religion, and monarchy, though interpretations of their symbolism can vary.
A common mix-up is counting colors instead of stripes: Thailand’s flag has three colors but five horizontal bands. It is also sometimes confused with Costa Rica’s flag, which uses a similar red-white-blue arrangement but has a coat of arms and a different stripe layout.