Flag of Brunei
Brunei’s flag is yellow, crossed diagonally by a white and a black band, with the national emblem in red in the centre. Brunei’s State Customs Department (Jabatan Adat Istiadat Negara) says the yellow stands for the Sultan and the black and white bands for Brunei’s chief wazirs, the ministers responsible for governing the country.
How to read it
The white and black bands run from the top corner by the pole to the bottom corner of the fly, according to Store norske leksikon. The flag was introduced in 1906, after the supplementary agreement of 1905 and 1906 with Britain, the State Customs Department says, as it is now but without the emblem; Store norske leksikon calls that first form slightly different. On 29 September 1959, after the proclamation of the 1959 constitution, the national emblem was added in the centre, and the flag was kept at independence on 1 January 1984.
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The emblem piece by piece
The State Customs Department lists five main parts of the emblem: a flag, the royal parasol, the wings, the hands and the crescent, and the Norwegian encyclopedia Store norske leksikon explains them. The red crescent turns upwards and is the symbol of Islam, the state religion. It carries the royal parasol (Payung Ubor-Ubor), the symbol of the monarchy, topped by a red swallow-tailed flag, also part of the regalia. The wings stand for justice, progress and peace, and the two raised hands on either side for the state’s duty to protect the people and promote prosperity.
On the crescent, in yellow Arabic script, is the national motto, which the department translates as “Always in service with God’s guidance”. The scroll beneath reads “Brunei Darussalam”, which means “Brunei, abode of peace”.
Where this symbol came from
oldsymbols.comCrescent moonThe upturned red crescent of the emblem is the symbol of Islam, Brunei’s state religion.Read next
- Next in Asian flagsFlag of CambodiaCambodia’s flag has a red band between two blue bands, the red twice as deep, with a white picture of the temple of Angkor Wat in the centre. The Cambodian government says the flag stands for the national motto, “Nation, Religion, King”: the blue bands for royalty, the red band for the nation and the white temple for the nation’s religion.
- The same shape in African flagsFlag of AngolaAngola’s flag is red over black with a yellow emblem in the centre: part of a cogwheel, a machete and a five-pointed star. Its constitution says the red is the blood shed by Angolans under colonial oppression, in the liberation struggle and in defence of the country, and the black is the African continent; the cogwheel stands for workers and industry, the machete for peasants, farming and the armed struggle, the star for international solidarity and progress, and their yellow for the country’s wealth.
More asian flags
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines or squares and rectangles.
Sources
- Bendera & Panji-panji (Jabatan Adat Istiadat Negara), Jabatan Adat Istiadat Negara, “01 – Bendera & Panji-panji”, Jabatan Adat Istiadat Negara (State Customs Department), Brunei Darussalam, Bendera Kebangsaan Negara
- Bruneis flagg og våpen (Store norske leksikon), Lars Roede, “Bruneis flagg og våpen”, Store norske leksikon, Store norske leksikon, article text
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 13, 2026. How we research
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