Libya Flag Colors, Meaning & History

Libya flag
Color Palette
ColorsHEX CodeRGBCMYK
Red#E70013231, 0, 190, 100, 92, 9
Black#0000000, 0, 00, 0, 0, 100
White#FFFFFF255, 255, 2550, 0, 0, 0
Green#239E4635, 158, 7078, 0, 56, 38

The Flag of Libya is made of three unequal stripes of red, black, and green. The top stripe is red, while the middle stripe is wider than the other two stripes and is colored black. The bottom stripe is green. A white crescent and a five-pointed star are located in the center of the flag.

Meaning of the Libyan Flag

The colors of the Libyan flag were inspired by the Arab Revolt colors. The green represents the green lands that Libya had, and the crescent with the star represents the Islamic faith.

History of the Libyan Flag

Libya was part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1911, Libya became under Italian rule, and the flag of Italy was raised as Libya had no flag of its own. Libya remained under Italian rule until WWII, when Italy lost the war and lost all its colonies. Libya’s administration was given to the British Military. The southern part of the country was given to the French, and the parts ruled by France raised a red flag with a white crescent and a white-bordered five pointed star. The British part of Libya gained independence in 1949, and had a black flag with a white crescent and star. When Libya gained independence in 1951, the two flags were merged and the green stripe was added at the bottom. In 1969, Al Ghaddafi overthrew king Idriss and established the Republic of Libya. The flag he chose was a tricolor of red, white and black. Libya then joined a confederation with Egypt and Syria, and the flag was the red, white and black with a green eagle in the middle, and the name of the country in Arabic inscription. In 1977, Al Ghaddafi left the confederation and changed the flag to be plain green, and it was the only flag in the world that was plain green. Al Ghaddafi was overthrown in 2011, and the original flag of Libya that was hoisted in 1951 was restored. The flag has not changed since then.