Indonesia Flag Colors, Meaning & History

Indonesia flag
Color Palette
ColorsHEX CodeRGBCMYK
Red#FF0000255, 0, 00, 100, 100, 0
White#FFFFFF255, 255, 2550, 0, 0, 0

The Indonesian flag has a simple design of two equal horizontal stripes of red and white. The top stripe is red, while the bottom stripe is white. It is identical to the Monaco flag, with a slight difference in flag dimensions.

Meaning of the Indonesian Flag

The red color represents courage while the white color represents honesty.

History of the Indonesian Flag

The current flag of Indonesia is inspired by the flag of the 13th-century Majapahit Empire. When Indonesia was occupied by the Dutch, its name was the Dutch East Indies. During the colonial period, Indonesia did not have a flag of its own. The flag that was raised was the Dutch flag. In 1942, the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies and flew a flag with a red sun on a white field. The Japanese occupation ended in 1945 after Indonesian resistance movements fought against the Japanese occupation. Achmed Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed the independence of the Dutch East Indies, and established the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 1945. As a result, Indonesia became an independent country, and the red and white flag was hoisted. Although the Netherlands did not accept or recognize the independence,  the negotiations between Indonesia and the Netherlands led to an agreement where Indonesia proclaimed its independence.  In 1949, the Netherlands accepted Indonesian independence, and the flag was hoisted on Independence Day celebrations.