The national flag of the United Arab Emirates contains the pan-Arab colors red, green, white, and black. It was designed in 1971 by Abdullah Mohammed Al Maainah, who was 19 years old at that time, and was adopted on 2 December 1971 after winning a nationwide flag design contest. The main theme of the flag's four colors is the sovereignty and unity of the Arab states.
Merchant ships may fly the alternative civil ensign, a red flag with the national flag in the canton. The airline Emirates uses the UAE flag as part of their livery.
All seven emirates use the federal flag interchangeably as the flag of the emirate, however, with the exception of Fujairah, all also emirates have separate flags (though some emirates share the same flag).
Design
thumb|250px|Historic photo depicting the first hoisting of the flag by the seven rulers of the emirates at Union House in Dubai on 2 December 1971.
thumb|right|The airline [[Emirates (airline)|Emirates includes the UAE flag in its aircraft livery.]]
Construction sheet
center|thumb|300x300px|Construction sheet of the flag.
Colors and Symbolism
The red stripe represents energy and the sacrifices made by the people for their nation, the green stands for growth and prosperity, the black stands for dignity, and the white stripe represents peace and purity.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" |Colors
! style="background:#00843D; width:200px" | <span style="color:#ffffff"> Green </span>
! style="background:#FFFFFF; width:200px" | <span style="color:black;">White</span>
! style="background:#000000; width:200px" | <span style="color:white;">Black</span>
! style="background:#C8102E; width:200px" | <span style="color:white;">Red</span>
|-
! colspan="2" |Meaning
|Plains of the Emirates
|The Acts of the Emirates
|The Battles and Dark Times of the Emirates
|The Emirati Swords
|-
! rowspan="4" |Standard shades<!--Needs to be archived.-->
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:right" |PANTONE
| <code>PANTONE® 348</code>|| <code>PANTONE® White</code> || <code>PANTONE® BLACK</code>|| <code>PANTONE® 186</code>
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:right" |CMYK
| <code>100/0/54/48</code>|| <code>0/0/0/0</code> || <code>10/0/0/100</code>|| <code>0/92/77/22</code>
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:right" | RGB
| <code>0/132/61</code>|| <code>255/255/255</code> || <code>0/0/0</code>|| <code>200/16/46</code>
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:right" | Hexadecimal
| <code>#00843D</code>|| <code>#FFFFFF</code> || <code>#000000</code>|| <code>#C8102E</code>
|}
Gallery
<gallery>
File:Civil Ensign of the United Arab Emirates.svg|Alternative civil ensign.
File:Flag of the UAE Armed Forces.svg|Flag of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces
File:Flag of the UAE Army.svg|Flag of the United Arab Emirates Army
File:Flag of the President of the United Arab Emirates.svg|Flag of the president of the United Arab Emirates
File:Flag of the President of the United Arab Emirates (1973-2008).svg|Flag of the president of the United Arab Emirates (1973–2008)
File:Fin_Flash_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates_–_Low_Visibility.svg|Fin Flash of the United Arab Emirates Air Force (low visibility)
File:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates_Air_Force.svg|Flag of the United Arab Emirates Air Force
Flag of the United Arab Emirates Navy.png|Flag of the United Arab Emirates Navy
</gallery>
Historical flags
<gallery>
File:Red flag.svg|Flag of the Hinawi (the Bani Yas of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Fujairah) and Ghafiri (Umm Al Quwain and Ajman) tribal confederations prior to 1820
File:Military standard of the House of Al Qasimi.svg| (Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah) prior to 1820
File:Flag of Sharjah.svg|Flag of the Emirate of Kalba (1921–1952)
File:Flag of the Trucial States.svg|Flag of the Trucial States Council (1968–1971)
</gallery>
Flag of each emirate
Each of the seven emirates within the United Arab Emirates belonged to either the Hinawi or Ghafiri tribal confederations; both had a red banner representing the Hashemite dynasty and allegiance to the Prophet Muhammad. The Qawasim, although part of the Ghafiri, had their own flag (a green, white, and red banner) to distinguish themselves as a maritime power. In 1820, after the British Empire campaign on Ras Al Khaimah, six of the seven emirates signed the General Maritime Treaty with the British Empire, which compelled them to be a British Protectorate in the region. A white segment was imposed, to be added to each emirate's flag. Fujairah at the time was not recognized as an emirate by the British and thus not made signatory of the 1820 Treaty, so it continued to use its own plain red flag.
On 6 November 1975, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi of Sharjah took down the British-imposed "White Pierced Red flag" for his emirate, stating:
<blockquote>After defeating the Al-Qawasim tribe, the British occupiers gave the Qawasim this flag to replace their own flag, which used to have three horizontal colours: green, white and red from top to bottom, with a Quranic inscription 'A victory from Allah and an imminent conquest' on the white part. The loss of our national flag occurred on Saturday 8 January 1820. So what I have done now is restore dignity to the citizens of Sharjah of today and to the citizens of Sharjah of the past, all of whom have been forced to salute the flag of the very aggressors who had removed our own flag, a flag that had symbolized the struggle of Al-Qawasim.
</blockquote>
On 15 November 1975, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah followed suit and replaced their flags with the federation flag. Soon after, the flags of the other emirates were lowered and the UAE flag was raised.
Although per the treaty, Abu Dhabi was supposed to fly the White Pierced Red Trucial States flag, in practice it continued to fly a plain red flag. Percy Cox, the British Colonial Office administrator in the Middle East, was unsuccessful in convincing Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan to adopt the Trucial States flag, which, Zayed argued, represented the Al Qawasim tribal federation. Abu Dhabi later adopted a red flag with a top left white rectangle to distinguish it from the surrounding emirates.
Ajman and Dubai
thumb| Flag of Ajman
thumb| Flag of Dubai
left|thumb|Ajman flags painted at the [[Ajman Museum.]]
The flags of Ajman and Dubai are identical, consisting of a red field with a white bar at the hoist, (i.e. closest to the flag staff). The flag is known as the White Red Halved and was adopted as an alternative to the Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah White Pierced Red flags, to distinguish the Emirate of Dubai and Ajman from the Al Qawasim in defiance of the bonds of the 1820 General Maritime Treaty with the British. The British labelled this flag as "Trucial Coast Flag No. 1", with Abu Dhabi and Umm Al Quwain also expected to adopt it. According to the Treaty, in times of war a full red flag would be used by the Bani Yas (Abu Dhabi and Dubai)
The Shihuh of Musandam Peninsula (Ruus Al Jibal) also had a similar flag.
Fujairah
thumb| Flag of Fujairah before 1952, and 1961–1975
thumb| Flag of Fujairah 1952–1961
Before 1952, the flag of Fujairah was plain red. Fujairah did not sign the general treaty in 1820 with the British and therefore continued using its red plain flag.
Umm Al Quwain
thumb| Flag of Umm Al Quwain
The flag of Umm Al Quwain consists of a red background, a white bar at the hoist similar the flags of Ajman and Dubai, and a large white star and crescent in the center, a symbol of Islam representing allegiance to the Islamic world.