Portugal occupies the southwestern tip of continental Europe and was once the centre of one of history's most far-reaching maritime empires. Portuguese navigators in the 15th and 16th centuries opened sea routes to Africa, Asia, and the Americas, fundamentally reshaping global trade. Today Portugal is known for its fado music, azulejo tilework, pastel de nata custard tarts, port wine, and is one of the oldest nation-states in Europe.
Population and area are rounded.
Green and red were adopted after the 1910 revolution that ended the monarchy; green is linked to hope and red to the blood of those who died for the nation. The yellow armillary sphere recalls the navigators of the Age of Discovery, and the shield holds seven castles and five blue shields, symbols of the Portuguese kings since the 12th century. The flag was officially adopted in 1911.
Vertical green-red with a complex coat of arms straddling the two colour sections.
Portugal is the oldest country in Europe with its modern borders, established in 1139.
Portugal's flag is often mixed up with these. Learn to tell them apart:
Every flag that has flown over Portugal, from today back through time.
Adopted in 1911 after the Republic was proclaimed, replacing royal blue-and-white with green and red. The arms sit on an armillary sphere recalling the Age of Discoveries, placed over the boundary of the two colors.
A field split blue at the hoist and white at the fly, with the crowned royal arms over an armillary sphere on the dividing line. It flew until the revolution of 5 October 1910 overthrew the monarchy.
A plain white field bearing the Portuguese royal coat of arms, used through the reigns of John V, Joseph I and Maria I. The white field carried no meaning of its own until colors were added in the 19th century.
Empires, kingdoms and republics that once covered part of Portugal.
The white-and-blue royal banner with the shield of five 'quinas' flew over the seafaring kingdom that launched the Age of Discovery, until the 1910 republican revolution.
For sixty years the Spanish and Portuguese crowns were joined under one Habsburg king, briefly creating a single empire spanning the globe, until Portugal revolted in 1640.
The 19 states, provinces and regions of Portugal with their own flags.
Aveiro
Beja
Braga
Bragança
Castelo Branco
Coimbra
Évora
Faro
Guarda
Lisbon
Portalegre
Porto
Santarém
Setúbal
Viana do Castelo
Vila Real
Viseu
Azores
MadeiraPortugal shares a land border with one country: Spain.
11 other national flags use the same main colours as Portugal's.
Benin
Bolivia
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Grenada
Guinea
Lithuania
Mali
Mauritania
Republic of the Congo
Senegal
Spain