Albania Flag

How to identify it

A plain red field with a black double-headed eagle in the centre. Montenegro also uses a two-headed eagle, but on a red field with a wide gold border and a full crowned coat of arms rather than a bare bird.

Design and construction

Proportions

5:7

Adoption and legal status

The eagle-on-red design was restored on 7 April 1992 after communist-era symbols were dropped; the coat of arms was formally readopted on 22 May 1993.

Construction

A red field bearing a black double-headed eagle in the centre.

History of the design

The red field and double-headed eagle are historically associated with the banner used by the 15th-century Albanian leader Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu. Albania’s independence movement later adopted an eagle-on-red flag in 1912. Communist-era versions added a gold-bordered red star above the eagle; that star was removed when the current design was restored in 1992.

Sources