What color is the vertical hoist band on the flag of the United Arab Emirates?

The story behind the answer

The vertical hoist band on the flag of the United Arab Emirates is red.

The rest of the flag is a horizontal green, white, and black tricolour. Together with the red hoist bar, these are the four pan-Arab colours, a combination used by several Arab countries and associated with shared history and identity. The red section occupies one-quarter of the flag’s width and sits nearest the flagpole.

The UAE adopted its national flag on 2 December 1971, the date the federation was established. Abdullah Mohammed Al Maainah designed it when he was 19, winning a nationwide competition. The colours are also commonly given symbolic meanings: red can represent energy and sacrifice, green growth and prosperity, black dignity, and white peace and purity.

A common mix-up is to identify the hoist band as green because green is the top horizontal stripe. The question distinguishes the vertical band at the pole from the three horizontal stripes across the field.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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