Romania vs. Chad: Flag Comparison
Romania and Chad both fly a 2:3 vertical tricolor of blue, yellow, and red in the exact same hoist-to-fly order, differing only in the statutory shade of their hoist blue stripe and their independent historical origins.
How to tell Romania and Chad apart at a glance
- Shade of the blue hoist stripe: Romania's Law No. 75/1994 specifies cobalt blue (#002B7F), whereas Chad's tricolor conventionally uses a darker indigo blue (Pantone 281 C / #002664).
- Historical origin: Romania's blue-yellow-red combination dates to 1834 Wallachian militia standards and the 1848 revolution, while Chad adopted its flag in November 1959 by blending the French tricolor with Pan-African colors.
- Thirty-year non-overlap (1959–1989): When Chad adopted its flag in 1959, Romania's flag bore a communist coat of arms in the center; the two flags only became near-identical on 27 December 1989 when Romania removed that emblem.
Side-by-side structural comparison
| Attribute | Romania | Chad |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 2:3 (2:3) | 2:3 (2:3) |
| Layout & orientation | vertical tricolor | vertical tricolor |
| Band / color sequence | blue · yellow · red | blue · yellow · red |
| Official color specs | Cobalt Blue (Albastru cobalt) (Albastru cobalt (Law No. 75/1994)); Chrome Yellow (Galben crom) (Galben crom (Law No. 75/1994)); Vermilion Red (Roșu vermion) (Roșu vermion (Law No. 75/1994)) | Indigo Blue (Pantone 281 C (commonly used darker indigo)); Golden Yellow (Pantone 116 C); Red (Pantone 186 C) |
| Official adoption | 1989-12-27 | 1959-11-06 |
| Region | Eastern Europe | Middle Africa |
| Visual similarity score | 100/100 (Layout 35/35 · Colors 25/25 · Symbols 20/20 · Ratio 10/10 · Geometry 10/10) | |
Why these two flags look alike
No pair of sovereign national flags is more famous for visual overlap than Romania and Chad. Both flags use a 2:3 aspect ratio divided into three equal vertical stripes of blue at the hoist, yellow in the center, and red at the fly. Neither country copied the other: Romania standardized its vertical blue-yellow-red arrangement in 1866–1867 after the 1848 Wallachian Revolution, whereas Chad selected its colors in November 1959 as it transitioned from French colonial rule by replacing the white stripe of the French tricolor with Pan-African yellow.
At the moment Chad enacted Constitutional Law No. 59-13 in 1959, there was no practical confusion between the two banners because the Socialist Republic of Romania placed a prominent state coat of arms in the middle of the yellow band. Following the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu in December 1989, Romanian citizens cut the communist emblem out of the flag, and Decree-Law No. 2/1989 restored the plain nineteenth-century tricolor. In side-by-side graphic specifications, Chad's hoist band is rendered in a deeper indigo blue than Romania's brighter cobalt blue, though on weathered outdoor cloth the two flags can be virtually indistinguishable without context.
Explore each flag in detail
Read the complete statutory specification, color table, and historical timeline on the Flag of Romania page or the Flag of Chad page, or return to all flag comparisons.