Political colours are colours used to represent a political
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
,
movement or
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
, either officially or unofficially.
They represent the intersection of
colour symbolism and
political symbolism. Politicians making public appearances will often identify themselves by wearing
rosettes,
flowers,
ties or
ribbons in the colour of their political party. Parties in different countries with similar ideologies sometimes use similar colours. As an example the colour
red symbolises
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
ideologies in many countries (leading to such terms as "
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
" and "
Red Scare"), while the colour
blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
is often used for
conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
, the colour
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
is most commonly associated with
liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
and
right-libertarianism, and
Green politics
Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.#Wal10, Wall 2010. p. 12-13. ...
is named after the ideology's political colour.
The political associations of a given colour vary from country to country, and there are exceptions to the general trends,
for example red has historically been associated with
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, but over time gained association with leftist politics, while the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
differs from other countries in that conservatism is associated with red and
liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
with blue.
Mass media has driven a standardisation of colour by political party, to simplify messaging, while historically the colour a candidate chose to identify with could have been chosen based on other factors such as family or regional variations.
Associations of different colours
Black
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
is primarily associated with
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
(see
anarchist symbolism); black is a lack of colour, and anarchism is a lack of a state. It is used in contrast of
national flags, to instead represent universal anarchism.
Black is also used to a lesser extent to represent ideologies on the opposite end of the spectrum:
fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
(see
Blackshirts
The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...
and
Schutzstaffel/
Gestapo
The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
) and
jihadism
Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...
(see
Black Standard).
The colours black and red have been used by anarchists since at least the late 1800s when they were used on
cockades by Italian anarchists in the 1874
Bologna insurrection, and in 1877 when anarchists entered the Italian town
Letino carrying red and black flags to promote the
First International
The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, social democratic, communist, and anarchist ...
.
During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
the
CNT used a diagonally half strip of black and red, with black representing anarchism and red representing the
labour movement
The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
and the worker movement. The flag was quickly adopted by other anarchists, with the second colour used to distinguish specific
anarchist philosophies:
anarcho pacifism with white,
green anarchism with green,
anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchism, anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade uni ...
and
anarcho-communism with red,
mutualism with orange, and
anarcho-capitalism with yellow, while black alone typically represents '
anarchism without adjectives'.
During the
Golden Age of Piracy, the black flag, or
Jolly Roger of pirates such as
Blackbeard and
Samuel Bellamy became popular symbols of
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
. The flags represented
death
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
and
no quarter
No quarter, during War, military conflict or piracy, implies that combatants would not be taken Prisoner of war, prisoner, but executed. Since the Hague Convention of 1899, it is considered a war crime; it is also prohibited in customary interna ...
to those who did not
surrender. The
Crossed Swords Jolly Roger, falsely attributed to
John Rackham, has become a popular and recognisable symbol of pirates, particularly of pirates of the Americas.
The skull and bones also became a hazardous symbol to display
poison
A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
s such as
cyanide,
Zyklon B and other toxic substances. The black flag of piracy would later influence the symbols of anarchism, such as the symbols of the
Makhnovshchina and the
Kronstadt rebellion. The rise of internet piracy led to the symbols of the golden age of piracy becoming widely adopted, becoming the symbols of pirate sites such as the
Pirate bay. Black becoming a colour to represent
pirate parties.
Black was also used by some
anti-racist and
Black nationalist parties, such as the
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...
in the United States and the
Popular Unity in Brazil.
*
Anti-clerical parties in the late 19th and early 20th centuries sometimes used the colour black in reference to the officials of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
because the
cassock
The cassock, or soutane, is a Christian clerical clothing, clerical coat used by the clergy and Consecrated life, male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in ...
is usually black.
* In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, black is the colour historically associated with
Christian democratic
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
parties, such as the
Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), the
Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) and the
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP); however, this is only customary, as the official colours of the CDU are usually either one of or a mix of different shades of yellow, orange or blue, depending on the regional branch of the party, with the nationwide party also using the red, black and gold from the German flag as official colours. The CSU uses a medium dark shade of blue as their official colour, as seen in their logo. In 2017, the ÖVP changed their official colour from black to turquoise, with some regional branches switching to turquoise as well, while others continue to use black, often in a mix with another colour, such as red, yellow, green or blue.
* In Italy, black is the colour of
fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
because it was the official colour of the
National Fascist Party. As a result, modern Italian parties would not use black as their political colour; however, it has been customary to use black to identify the
neo-fascist Italian Social Movement.
* In the
Islamic world
The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
, black flags (often with a white
shahadah) are sometimes used by jihadist groups. Black was the colour of the
Abbasid caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...
. It is also commonly used by
Shia Muslims, as it is also associated with mourning the death of
Husayn ibn Ali
Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alids, Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abd a ...
.
It is now known as the flag colour of the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
.
* In Malaysia, the People's Solidarity Secretariat (SSR), an umbrella youth organisation launched the Black Flag Movement (#BenderaHitam) in 2021 as a resistance-based protest against the then
ruling Perikatan Nasional government. The
Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) also adapted the colour black as their official colour.
* In Russia, black was used for monarchism and nationalist movements, such as the
Black Hundreds before their defeat.
* In India, black represents protest. In
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
, black represents atheistic human rights rebels who follow
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy.
* In Brazil, the far-left, socialist and anti-racist party
Popular Unity has black as its official colour.
Blue
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
is usually associated with
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
or
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
parties,
originating from its use by the
Tories (predecessor of the
Conservative Party) in the United Kingdom.
Blue is used by many international organisations of centre right and conservative parties, such as the
International Democrat Union, the
Democrat Union of Africa, the
Asia Pacific Democrat Union, the
Caribbean Democrat Union (together with red), the
European Democrat Union, the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
, the
European Conservatives and Reformists Party.
* The field of the flag of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
is
light blue
Light blue is a color or range of colors, typically a lightened shade with a hue between cyan and blue.
The first use of "light blue" as a color term in English language, English is in the year 1915.
In Russian and some other languages, there ...
, chosen to represent peace and hope. It has given rise to the term "
bluewashing".
* The colour blue, normally of a lighter shade, is
of prime significance in Judaism. The
flag of Israel
The flag of the State of Israel ( ; ) was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. It consists of a white background with a blue Star of David in the centre and two horizontal blue stripes at the ...
features two blue horizontal stripes and a blue
Star of David
The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...
, so blue, often combined with white, is often used by mainstream Zionist parties and movements,
such as the
Jewish National Fund or more recently the
Blue and White alliance. See also ,
National colours of Israel and
Zionism
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
.
* Turquoise blue color was shown in Iran as a symbol of royalism and support of the Pahlavi dynasty, and the flag of this dynasty (Pahlavi) is of this color.
* In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
the colour blue has been associated with
conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
and the
right
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
since pre-
federation
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
, taking influence from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The major centre-right, conservative
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
, called the
Liberal Party of Australia, uses blue,
as did its predecessor party:
United Australia.
* In
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, blue is heavily associated with the
right-wing populist Freedom Party and with
pan-Germanism. It is the Freedom Party's official colour, and its members are generally referred to as "blues" in the media and colloquial speech.
The blue
cornflower was a national symbol of
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in the 19th century, often associated with
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. It later became a symbol for
Pan-German nationalists in Austria, such as
Georg Ritter von Schönerer's . In
1930s Austria the cornflower was also worn by members of the then illegal
NSDAP, as a secret symbol and identifier.
After 1945, MPs of the Freedom Party wore cornflowers on their
lapels at the openings of the Austrian parliament, until they switched to the more "Austrian"
Edelweiß in 2017.
* In
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, blue is associated with the
syncretic Peronist movement. The left-wing populist
Frente de Todos
The Frente de Todos (translated as "Everyone's Front") was a centre-left political coalition of political parties in Argentina formed to support President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Kirchner.
Fernández won the 2019 gen ...
uses
sky blue alongside the
Justicialist Party, the main party of the front.
Federal Peronism, which represents the right-wing of the Peronist movement and the conservative
Christian Democratic Party current, uses
dark blue.
* In
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, blue is associated with
liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
, used both by the
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats as the
Reformist Movement.
* In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, blue is associated with mainstream
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
,
liberal and
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
parties opposed to populism, often associated with the left but also opposed with the populist reactionary right, like
National Democratic Union,
National Renewal Alliance,
Progressive Party,
Brazilian Social Democracy Party,
Democratas and
Brazil Union. The first major party which used blue was the far-right
Brazilian Integralist Action, but their successors use Gold.
* In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, the
Conservative Party uses blue. Also, blue is often used to represent Quebec.
[Bernier Arcand, Philippe, �]
Bleu, histoire d'une couleur politique
», ''Histoire Québec'', 2018, Vol. 3, no 4, pp. 15–17 The
Bloc Québécois, a federal party centred around
Quebec nationalism, uses blue, as do major provincial parties in Quebec like the
Parti Québécois and
Coalition Avenir Québec. The colour is also used to represent the many provincial Conservative parties, often called the "Progressive Conservative Party" or PC, for short.
* In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the far-right
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...
uses a light blue as their primary colour.
* In
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, blue is used by the conservative
National party.
* In
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, blue is used by
pro-Beijing camp, but also used by
localists (for symbolising
Hong Kong independence).
* In
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, light blue is the colour associated with the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
, a national centre-left party. Meanwhile, dark blue is associated with the
Dalit Movement, represented by multiple parties:
Republican Party of India (and its
Athawale splinter),
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
, etc.
* In
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, blue is used by the centrist
Democratic Party and the center-left
NasDem Party. It is also used by the islamist party
National Mandate Party.
* In the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, blue is associated with the centre-right
Fine Gael party, going back to the
Blueshirts
The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, known by the nickname the Blueshirts (), was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded in 1932.New Irish Army Arises, Ne ...
, a quasi-fascist uniformed group that merged into the party in 1932. "Blueshirt" is a common derogatory term for Fine Gael, and they often use blue in party materials.
* In
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, blue is associated with liberal, centrist, and centre-left parties. Three centre-left parties in Japan with elected representatives use blue: the
Constitutional Democratic Party,
Democratic Party for the People, and the
Social Democratic Party. Historically, blue was used by
Japan Socialist Party.
* In
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, blue was currently used to represent both
Barisan Nasional (royal blue) and
Perikatan Nasional (solid blue).
* In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, blue is used by the
right-wing populist PiS party, and a darker version (navy blue) is also used by the far-right
Confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
party.
* In
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, blue is an official colour of the ruling party,
United Russia.
* In
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, blue is usually associated with the ruling
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...
, though it is also used for the
Workers' Party as its colour represents
blue-collared working class, to keep up with the
civic nationalism and
social democracy
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
ideologies.
* In
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, blue is usually associated with liberal political parties, the most popular being the
Democratic Alliance, the largest opposition party. The colour blue was also used by the
United Party, from which the
Progressive Party (the most senior ancestor of the Democratic Alliance) split in 1959.
* In
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, traditionally blue was used by
conservative parties. Since 2013, blue has adopted by the liberal
Democratic Party of Korea (previously used green and yellow), while conservative party change its colour from blue to red. This makes South Korea an exception to the general rule that blue represents conservative parties, along with the United States.
* In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, blue is the colour of the mainstream conservative
People's Party, but regionally:
** Light blue is used by
Galician nationalism as it appears in the
flag of Galicia.
** Dark blue is used by non-
separatist Catalan nationalism, being the colour of
Convergence and Union, which ruled Catalonia from 1980 to 2003 and from 2010 to 2015, and its successor
PDeCAT.
** Light blue is used by
pro-independence party
Junts
* In
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and historically in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, it is used by the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
and the wider
Pan-Blue Coalition, a coalition generally associated with
Chinese nationalism as well as
conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
.
* In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the colour blue has been associated with the
liberal Democratic Party since around the
2000 presidential election, when most of the major television networks used the same colour scheme for the parties.
This makes the United States an exception to the general rule that blue represents conservative parties; the major conservative party in the United States, the
Republican Party, uses red. In 2010, the Democratic party unveiled a blue official logo
(see
red states and blue states).
* In
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, blue represents the
Democratic Unity Roundtable, the large multi-ideological coalition of parties in opposition, probably as a counterpart to
PSUV's red.
* In most of
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, blue is used as a colour of anti-feminism and, more specifically, anti-abortion. This colour was used as a
response to the feminist/pro-abortion green. This originated in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
.
Brown
Brown has been associated with
Nazism
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
, and in particular the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
in Germany, because of the
Sturmabteilung (SA), whose members were called "brown shirts". They were modelled on
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's
blackshirts
The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...
, and the colour of their shirts was chosen because many brown uniforms intended for the
colonial troops in
Germany's African colonies were cheaply available after the end of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. In Europe and elsewhere, the colour brown is sometimes used to refer to fascists in general.
Brown has also been used to refer to the general
far-right rather than exclusively Nazism and/or fascism. The French political term "
red–green–brown alliance" denotes an alliance between
leftists
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
(''
red''),
Islamists (''
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
''), and the
far right (''
brown''). Just like its National Socialist context, the colour brown was chosen to refer to the far-right on account of its association with the Nazi
Sturmabteilung. There have been slight variations of the red–green–brown alliance which have also used the colour brown to indicate the far-right. In Russia, for example, the metonym "red-brown" was coined to refer to a unification of communists (''red'') and the far-right (''brown'').
* Brown is sometimes used to describe the opposite of green parties, that is to describe parties that care little about pollution.
Buff
*
Buff, along with blue, was the colour of the
Whig faction in
British politics from the early 18th century until the middle of the 19th century.
As such, it is sometimes used to represent the current political left (in opposition to blue, which represented the
Tories and then the
Conservatives and political right).
Grey
*
Grey is sometimes used by parties that represent the interests of pensioners and senior citizens, such as "
The Greys" in Germany.
* Grey can also be used to refer to either
reactionary
In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
,
neo-Confederate or
secession
Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
ist movements, due to its association with the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
.
* Grey is often used to represent
independent politician
An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicia ...
s; however in the UK, white is used to represent independent politicians.
Green
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
is the colour for
environmentalist
Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...
and
agrarian parties and movements. Considered the holy colour of Islam (see
green in Islam), it is used to represent
Islamism
Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
, as with
Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
and many
Islamist parties.
* In most of
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, green is associated with pro-choice movements, the colour started being used in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
as a symbol of
third wave feminism and abortion rights, with a
green scarf as a symbol. However, green is also the colour of many
Christian democratic
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
parties in the region which opposes abortion, like in
Aruba
Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...
,
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
.
* The
Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
movement makes wide use of green in
its symbolism, including the language's flag which is known as the (literally ''Green Flag'')
* Fern green is occasionally used by political organisations and groups who advocate the legalisation of medicinal use of marijuana.
*
Sea green was used as a symbol by members of the
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement active during the English Civil War who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populism, as sh ...
in 17th-century
Britain;
for this reason, it is occasionally used to represent
radical liberalism.
* In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, a dark shade of green is used to represent right wing
National Party of Australia, while a light shade of green is used to represent the
Australian Greens.
* In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, in addition to its use by the
Green Party, green, as the main colour of the
Brazilian flag, is strongly associated with
Brazilian nationalism and
Brazilian people. The big tent, pro-democracy
Brazilian Democratic Movement and the anti-corruption and pro-
direct democracy
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without legislator, elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy m ...
Podemos use different
shades of green
Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, colorfulness, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shad ...
. In the past, green was also the colour of the
Conservative Party of the
Empire of Brazil
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...
.
* In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, in addition to its use by the
Green Party of Canada, green has also been frequently used by right-wing and populist parties that are unaffiliated with the Conservative Party.
Examples include the
Social Credit Party of Canada,
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada () was a right-wing populism, right-wing populist and conservative List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada- ...
,
Canadian Alliance,
Wildrose Party in Alberta and the
Saskatchewan Party. Green was also historically used as a secondary colour by the left-wing
New Democratic Party, whose primary colour is orange.
* In
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, a dark shade of green is used by the right-centre
Conservative People's Party ().
* In
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, green has been used by the
Iranian Green Movement, a political movement that arose after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
from office.
* In
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, green is used mainly by
centre-left parties, such as
All India Trinamool Congress and
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party with great influence in the Federated state, sta ...
, and by Islamic political parties, such as the
Indian Union Muslim League.
* Most Islamic parties in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
use green as their main party colors. Examples include the
United Development Party,
National Awakening Party and
Reform Star Party.
*
Irish Nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...
and
Irish Republican movements have used the colour green.
Sinn Fein, the
SDLP,
Fianna Fail and
Aontú all use green as colour. Though the official colour of Ireland is blue, green is the colour of St. Patrick and thus took on a particular significance for Irish nationalists in the 19th century.
* In
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Northern secessionist
Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
movements such as
Lega Nord
Lega Nord (LN; ), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing politics, right-wing, federalism, federalist, populism, populist and conservatism, conservative list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. In the run-up to the 201 ...
chose green as their political colour, advocating their
Celtic origin.
* In
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, the dominant
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) uses green as one of its official colours. Although the party has used the colour red more prominently in recent years. Other examples of right wing parties adopting the colour green in its branding include the
Japan Innovation Party and the now defunct
Party of Hope.
* In
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
, green is used by the
pro-Beijing camp.
* In
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, green is used by the Islamists, especially the
Malaysian Islamic Party and several Malay nationalists as part of the Malay Tricolour (the other being yellow and red).
* In
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, it is associated with the
Green March of 1975.
* In
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, two centre-left social democratic parties use green: the
Revolutionary Febrerista Party and the
Progressive Democratic Party
* In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, green is used by the agrarian
PSL party, and is sometimes associated with the
Third Way
The Third Way is a predominantly centrist political position that attempts to reconcile centre-right and centre-left politics by advocating a varying synthesis of Right-wing economics, right-wing economic and Left-wing politics, left-wing so ...
coalition party. Green is also used by the ultranationalist organization ONR.
* After the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
, the
Green armies were the range of peasant forces (often aligned with anarchists or the
Socialist Revolutionary Party
The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia. The party memb ...
) in Russia and Ukraine that fought against both the Bolshevik
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
and counter-revolutionary
White Army.
* In
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, green is often used by minority parties such as the
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, the
Justice and Reconciliation Party and the
Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak (
Sandžak's Bosniaks). The
Green–Left Front also uses green alongside red.
* In
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, green was used by various
liberal parties for much of post-war history. When the
Democratic Party of Korea was founded in 2014, it used blue instead.
* In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, green is used by
monarchists, as the initials of ("Hail the
King of Spain
The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country.
The Spanish ...
") spell out the word (
Spanish: green). Currently, green is used by monarchist and
far-right party
Vox. In order to avoid clash of colours,
green parties Más Madrid,
Más País and
Equo use
teal. Also, regionwide:
** Green is the standard colour of
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
and
separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...
; with dark green used by centre-right
Basque Nationalist Party, and light green used by
abertzale left EH Bildu.
** Green is the colour of
Andalusian nationalism as it appears in the
flag of Andalusia
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have ...
, itself based on the flag of the
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
Caliphate of Córdoba
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
.
* In
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, it is used by the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...
and the wider
Pan-Green Coalition, a coalition generally associated with
Taiwan independence as well as
progressive liberalism.
* In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, it is used by the
Green Party, which promotes
green politics
Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.#Wal10, Wall 2010. p. 12-13. ...
, specifically things like
environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
.
Magenta
Magenta
Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...
is a colour that started being used in the 21st century to replace yellow for some liberal and
centrist parties and organisations in Europe. It is not to be confused with the socialist or social democratic use of the colour pink.
* In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
although the official colour of the left-wing party
Die Linke is red, mass media uses magenta as the party colour to prevent confusion with the centre-left
Social Democratic Party whose party colour is also red.
* In Poland, magenta is used by the
democratic-socialist Razem (Together) party.
*In the Canadian province of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...
, magenta was used to represent the short lived
Newfoundland Reform Liberal Party.
Orange
Orange is the traditional colour of the
Christian democratic
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
political ideology and most Christian democratic political parties, which are based on
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...
and/or
neo-Calvinist theology. Christian democratic political parties came to prominence in Europe and
the Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Orange less frequently represents various kinds of
populist parties. Such is the case in Austria, Germany, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Turkey.
* Since 2004, orange has represented some post-Communist democratic revolutions ("
colour revolutions") in Eastern Europe such as the "
Orange Revolution" in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. This gave the colour orange a certain association with radical anti-authoritarian politics in some countries and it has been used as such by groups and organisations in the Middle East, for example in
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, the
Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
and
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
*
Humanism
Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The me ...
frequently uses orange for representation. It is the colour of the
Humanist International, as well as the humanist parties in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, Costa Rica and
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, and other humanist organisations.
* Orange is often used to represent the
mutualist current in anarchist politics, as a middle ground between pro-market currents such as
anarcho-capitalism (associated with the colour yellow of liberalism) and anti-capitalist currents such as
anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchism, anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade uni ...
and
anarcho-communism (associated with the colour red of communism and socialism).
* In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, orange is used to represent the
One Nation party, a
right-wing populist and
national-conservative
National conservatism is a nationalism, nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding National identity, national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist c ...
led by
Pauline Hanson. It is also used to represent other populist parties, such as the
Centre Alliance
Centre Alliance (CA), formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT), is a centrist List of political parties in Australia, Australian political party based in the state of South Australia. It currently has one elected representative, Rebekha ...
party.
* In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, orange is the colour of the liberal
New Party and also is the colour of two parties associated with a socially conservative social democracy:
Forward and
Solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
.
* In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, Orange is the official colour of the social-democratic
New Democratic Party. During
Jack Layton's leadership green was used as their accent colour; The logo was a green maple leaf with orange "NDP" lettering. Currently light blue is used as their accent colour although it seldom appears and is not included in the logo (the current logo is an orange maple leaf with orange "NDP" lettering).
* In
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, since its adoption by the fans of
APOEL FC, orange has been associated with
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
and
ultranationalist politics.
* The
Czech Social Democratic Party uses orange alongside the more traditional red.
* During the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
of 1642, orange was associated with parliamentarian
Roundhead
Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
s.
* In
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, orange is associated with liberal and centrist parties, like
Center Union,
Drassi and
Recreate Greece
* In
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
the colour is associated with the
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Fidesz party, which has been in office for several years. Probably because of the country's history, that
anti-immigrationism has become popular (see
Trianon).
* In
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, the colour orange has become the dominant colour of the right-wing, with an emphasis on the religious-right. This is when, from 2004, the colour became the leader of a protest against the disengagement plan, and became identified with the right-wing camp.
* In
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, orange is not linked to Christian democratic movements (the Christian democratic party
Partido Acción Nacional uses blue). Instead, it is linked to the centre-left secular party
Movimiento Ciudadano.
* In
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, the Electoral Commission rejected a proposed orange logo for being likely to confuse or mislead voters by being too similar to the colour used by the country's electoral agencies.
* In
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, orange is associated with
Fujimorism and Fujimorist parties such as
Popular Force and
New Majority (Peru).
* In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, it is associated and was formerly used by the liberal
Civic Platform
The Civic Platform (, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a Centre-right politics, centre-right liberal conservative political party in Poland. Since ...
party.
* In the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
orange is associated with
Unionism and the
Orange Order
The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...
.
* In
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, orange is often associated with conservative
Afrikaner political movements. Orange was the official colour of the
National Party which was the country's governing party from 1948 to 1994. Additionally, its successor, the
New National Party, used the colour orange. It is the used by the
Christian democratic
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
and
Afrikaner nationalist party
Freedom Front Plus. Orange red is the official colour of the
Independent Democrats, a
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
political party in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces.
* In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, orange is used by
Citizens
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...
, a liberal party that opposes
Catalan separatism. This is in contrast to the yellow used by Catalan separatism (see below).
* In Thailand, orange is used by the banned
Future Forward Party, and currently used by the
Move Forward Party, being associated with social democracy and progressivism.
Pink
Pink
Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...
is sometimes used by
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
parties, such as in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. The more traditional colour of social democracy is red (because social democracy is descended from the democratic socialist movement), but some countries have large social democratic parties alongside large socialist or communist parties, so that it would be confusing for them all to use red. In such cases, social democrats are usually the ones who give up red in favour of a different colour. Pink is often chosen because it is seen as a softer, less aggressive version of red, in the same way that social democracy is more centrist and capitalistic than socialism.
* In some European nations and the United States, pink is associated with homosexuality and the pink flag is used as a symbol in support of civil rights for
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
people; it is commonly used to represent
queer anarchism. This use originates in Nazi German policy of appending
pink triangles to the clothing of homosexual prisoners.
* The
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n liberal party
NEOS uses pink as its main colour, though this corresponds closer to the use of magenta typically associated with centrist liberal parties.
* In the
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...
, pink was used to represent the
Newfoundland People's Party.
Purple
Although
purple has some older associations with
monarchism, it is the most prominent colour that is not traditionally connected to any major contemporary ideology. As such, it is sometimes used to represent a mix of different ideologies, or new protest movements that are critical of all previously existing large parties and
minor parties.
* Since purple, green and white were adopted by the
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...
(the
Suffragettes), purple has been associated with
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
and the women's movement.
1970s feminists such as
Dale Spender and
Midge Mackenzie revived these colours, and they were used officially for
International Women's Year
International Women's Year (IWY) was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976 to 1985, was also established.
History
...
in 1975 and subsequently as the colours for
International Women's Day.
Often in combination with green, it the symbol for feminist political parties such as the UK's
Women's Equality Party or the
Women's List in Iceland. When combined with black, it is used to represent
anarcha-feminism.
* Purple has been the colour of the international
Pirate Party movement since the founding of the
Swedish Pirate Party in 2006.
* In
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
, purple is the colour of the
Socialist Party of Albania.
* In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, purple is used by the
Australian Electoral Commission, the independent statutory authority responsible for the management of federal elections. While use of the colour purple by political parties is not prohibited in itself, it is strongly discouraged owing to the possibility of confusion and the risk of contravening laws against misleadingly branded election signage.
* In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, purple is the colour associated with some
progressive liberal movements such as
Cidadania and
Livres. This colour is chosen because those movements consider themselves to be mixing the best ideas of the
left (associated with red) and the
right
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
(associated with blue)
* In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, the
People's Party of Canada is a
right-libertarian and
right-wing populist party whose colour has been purple since its founding and have changed their logo in 2021 to reflect that. The
People's Alliance of New Brunswick are another right-wing party that uses purple in Canada. Previously, purple was used by several municipal politicians, such as
Naheed Nenshi and
Lisa Helps, as a "
nonpartisan" or "
postpartisan" colour, due to its lack of association with any major party or ideological viewpoints. In the 1980s and 1990s, the
Alberta NDP used purple as their main colour instead of orange – their current colour and the standard colour of
NDP parties across Canada. This was because orange was being used as the secondary colour by the
Alberta Progressive Conservatives.
* In the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, the
Dominican Liberation Party logo is a yellow five-pointed star on a purple background. It was originally a leftist party but today the party is seen gravitating towards a more centrist platform.
* In Europe, purple tends to be used for movements, parties and governments that are neither clearly right nor left. The colour is also used by the
European federalist party
Volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...
.
** It has been used to represent the
Purple governments of
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, formed by an alliance of red social-democratic and blue liberal parties.
* In the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, purple is the colour of the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
; in most other countries,
social democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
use pink or red, but the use of purple has allowed the party to stand out visually from other left-wing parties (such as
Labour,
Solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
,
People Before Profit and the
Workers' Party, who all use shades of red and pink). Co-leader
Catherine Murphy used purple as her personal colour when she was an
independent politician
An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicia ...
, prior to the party's foundation in 2015.
* In Israel, because purple has been a less politicised colour (and inspired by Spain's
Podemos), the colour has become the symbol of
Standing Together, a grassroots joint Jewish/Palestinian for social justice.
* In
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, purple has been adopted by anti-
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
protesters (see
Purple People) as an alternative from other colours and political parties.
* In
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, the
Purple Party is a liberal party which chose purple as its colour to represent centrism, between the blue of the right and red of the left.
* In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, purple is associated with
leftist anti-fascist
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...
, as purple (originally the colour representing
Castile and León
Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...
), along with gold and red, was the colour of the
flag
A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...
of the
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
.
The left-wing to far-left and
republican Podemos uses purple.
* In
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, the
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is often represented with the colour purple. Considered on the
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
of the political spectrum and a merger of various
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and
pro-Kurdish movements, the party places a strong emphasis on
participatory and
radical democracy,
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
,
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
,
minority rights,
youth rights
The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to Youth, young people that are traditionally reserved for adults. This is closely akin to the notion of evolving capacities within the children's rights mov ...
and
egalitarianism
Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...
.
* In the United Kingdom, purple is most commonly associated with
UKIP
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
, a formerly prominent eurosceptic party which has since become extremely minor. Purple has also been the official colour of two other British
Eurosceptic parties,
Veritas and the
Christian Peoples Alliance. From these associations, among others, the colour purple has been linked with
far-right politics in the UK. However, it is also the colour of the
centre-left
Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
,
pro-European Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party () is a centre-left List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. The party currently has an electoral pact with the Labour Party. E ...
, which has an electoral pact with the
Labour Party.
* In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the
Working Families Party
The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...
, which is a
progressive third party, uses purple as one of its primary party colors. Purple is also used to describe populations with a near-equal mix of Democrat (blue) and Republican (red) voters, particularly in the context of Presidential elections. 21st-century election reporting commonly refers to "
Purple states" or "Purple counties" for regions where neither party appears to have a clear majority among likely voters (i.e. contested frequently between the Republican Party, whose unofficial colour is red; and the Democratic Party, whose unofficial colour is blue). It has also been used to reference
Purple America, noting that electoral differences nationwide are observed more on discrepancies instead of unity (see
red states and blue states). Purple is also used by
centrists to represent a combination of beliefs belonging to the Republicans and the Democrats.
Red
Red is often associated with
the left, especially
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and
communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
.
The oldest symbol of socialism (and by extension communism) is the
red flag, which dates back to the French Revolution in the 18th century and the
revolutions of 1848
The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
. Before this nascence, the colour red was generally associated with Christianity due to the symbolism and association of
Christ's blood. The colour red was chosen to represent the blood of the workers who died in the struggle against capitalism. All major socialist and communist alliances and organisations—including the
First,
Second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
,
Third and
Fourth Internationals—used red as their official colour. The association between the colour red and communism is particularly strong. Communists use red much more often and more extensively than other ideologies use their respective traditional colours.
* In Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand red is also associated with parties of
social democracy
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
and
democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic ideology, economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and wor ...
and often their allies within the
labour movement
The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
, a symbol of common
solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
among leftists.
* Additionally, in parts of Latin America, red is also the traditional colour of liberal parties. It was the colour used, for example, in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Uruguay for liberal parties.
* In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, red is used by the
Workers' Party, supporters of
Lula and
communist parties. The association of red with
Lulism and communism has become so prevalent in recent years that other parties that had red as a primary or secondary colour switched colours so as not to be associated with or confused with Lula, PT and the communist parties.
* In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, red is the colour of the
Communist Party of Canada and is also used by the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...
.
* In
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, red is the colour used by the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP).
* In
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, red is used by the
pro-Beijing camp.
* In
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, red is used primarily by
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and their previous iterations, the
Indonesian National Party and the
Indonesian Democratic Party. It is also used by
Indonesian Solidarity Party.
* In
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
, red is used by the
pro-Beijing camp.
* In
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, red was currently used to represent
Pakatan Harapan
Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...
and also the
Socialist Party of Malaysia. Meanwhile, red is also used
United Malays National Organization and
Malaysian United Indigenous Party
The Malaysian United Indigenous Party ( Malay: ''Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia''; abbrev: BERSATU or PPBM) is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia ( Malay: ) and ...
as part of the Malay Tricolour (the other being yellow and green).
* In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, it is used by the social-democratic
Lewica party. The color crimson has traditionally been used by Polish monarchists.
* In
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, red is used by the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation. In the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, red was the colour used by the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
.
* In
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, red is used as the official colours for both the
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is a social liberal political party in Singapore. Founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, the party gained its first seat in 6th Parliament of Singapore, Parliament in 1984 Singaporean general election, 1984 when ...
and the
Progress Singapore Party. Both parties had
social liberalism
Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...
ideologies.
* In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, red is the official colour of both the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and the
Communist Party of Spain. Because the Socialists are a major party, and in order to avoid a clash of colours, the Communist
United Left voluntarily uses
dark red as its customary colour.
* In
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, it is used by the
Taiwan People's Communist Party and the wider
united front in Taiwan, associated with
Chinese communism and allegiance to the CCP.
* In
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, red is used by
Pheu Thai Party and supporters of
Thaksin Shinawatra, hence the umbrella term "
Red Shirts".
* In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, red is also the colour of the labour movement and the Labour parties in those countries (spelled '
Labor Party' in Australia). The use of red as a symbol is referenced in the British Labour Party's anthem, ''
The Red Flag''.
* In the heyday of the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
before 1960, maps, globes, and atlases typically used red or pink to designate the Empire or its Commonwealth; the practice inspired the
All-Red Route and the
All Red Line. This derived from the
Redcoats traditionally worn by the British Army. As soon as a colony became independent, it needed its own distinctive colour and the practice died out.
* A key exception to the convention of red to mean the left-wing of politics is the United States. Since about the year 2000, the mass media have associated red with the
Republican Party, even though the Republican Party is a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
party (see
red states and blue states).
This use is possibly entrenched, as many political organisations (for example, the website
RedState) now use the term.
* Since the 2010s, some conservative parties such as the
Liberal Democratic Party of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and the
People Power Party of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
have also adopted red as their political colour.
Saffron
Saffron is traditionally associated with
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
,
Hindutva and the
Hindu nationalist movement.
Saffron was chosen because in Hinduism, the deep saffron colour is associated with sacrifice, religious abstinence, quest for light and salvation. Saffron or "Bhagwa" is the most sacred colour for the Hindus and is often worn by Sanyasis who have left their home in search of the ultimate truth.
Teal
* In Australia, the colour teal, and the term "
teal independents", have become associated with some of the
centrist independent candidates supported by the
Voices groups in Australia and campaigning on a platform emphasising
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
action, tackling
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
in politics, and
gender equality
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...
. Six such candidates won seats at the
2022 Australian federal election, ousting incumbent MPs from the
Liberal Party of Australia. One theory about the colour teal in this context is that it symbolises a mixture of blue (the Liberal Party's colour) with green (representing environmental concerns).
* In Spain, because the colour green is connected to monarchism, environmental parties use teal in order to avoid clash of colours. They include the parties;
Más Madrid,
Más País and
Equo.
* In the United Kingdom, teal is used by right-wing populist
Reform UK
Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...
, because it is seen as a version of the conservative blue.
* In Canada, teal is used by the French-Canadian nationalist
Bloc Québécois.
* In Austria, teal is the main colour of the
Austrian People's Party. The colour was changed from black to teal as a part of the party's rebranding campaign after the
Sebastian Kurz corruption scandal and subsequent drop in the party's popularity.
White
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
is today mainly linked to
pacifism (as in the
surrender flag).
* Historically, it was associated with support for
absolute monarchy, starting with the supporters of the
Bourbon dynasty
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
of France because it was the dynasty's colour. Partly due to this association, white also came to be associated with
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...
, itself allied with the Bourbons. White cockades, white ladies' gloves, and ''
Rosa pimpinellifolia'' (the 'burnet' or 'Stuart' rose) symbolised support for the exiled
House of Stuart. Because some of the Russian "Whites" had similar goals to the French "Whites" of a century earlier, it was used by the
Whites who fought against the communist "Reds" in the
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
(see also
White Army), although the Whites included many different people with many ideologies, such as monarchists, liberals, anticommunist social democrats and others.
** Because of its use by anti-communist forces in Russia, the colour white came to be associated in the 20th century with many different
anti-communist and counter-revolutionary groups, even those that did not support absolute monarchy (for example, the Finnish "
Whites" who fought against the socialist "
Reds" in the civil war following the
independence of Finland). In some revolutions, red is used to represent the revolutionaries and white is used to represent the supporters of the old order, regardless of the ideologies or goals of the two sides.
* In Italy, a red cross on a white shield () is the emblem of Catholic parties from the historical
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
party.
* The white uniforms for the
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
's political party, the
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...
, represents its
conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
, and to promote unity and pure political ideologies.
* In the politics of the United Kingdom, white represents independent politicians such as
Martin Bell.
* The
Yorkshire Party, a
Devolutionist Political Party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
with elected representatives in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, uses a stylised
White Rose of York as its emblem.
Yellow and gold
Yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
and
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
are the colours most strongly associated with
right-libertarianism and
liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
.
In several countries, the
yellow ribbon, often associated with showing support for troops serving in wars, prisoners of war or hostages, has taken on a political meaning.
* In Latin America, it is not unusual for left-wing
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
parties to use yellow, as red was the traditional colour of liberals, especially in countries with prominent red-using liberal parties like Uruguay, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica.
* Yellow is also associated with Judaism and the
Jewish people, although this may be seen negatively (see also
Yellow badge).
It has consequently been taken up by the
Revisionist Zionist and
Kach movements, and yellow ribbons are used to demonstrate support for hostages taken by Palestinian militants,
especially after
7 October 2023.
* In East and Southeast Asia, yellow is used to represent
monarchies. For instance, in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
yellow represents
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Bhumibol and King Vajiralongkorn, apart from the colour of the royalists, known as the "yellowshirts". It was also the colour of the pro-monarchy
Panchayat system in the
Kingdom of Nepal.
* It is also a common colour to represent
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
; monks in
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
used it in the
anti-government protests in 2007–2008.
*
Yellow socialism was a political movement in France from 1902 until World War I, opposed to the "red socialism" of
Marxism
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
.
* In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, yellow is used to represent the
United Australia Party established in 2013.
* In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, yellow, combined with green, is associated with
right-wing populists and
national conservatives movements
against corruption, anti-
Workers Party,
anti-communists, supportive of
impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and later, with support of
Jair Bolsonaro, like
PSL and the
Alliance for Brazil. The association came because many of the protesters against Dilma wore the jersey of
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team (), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' ("Canary Squad", after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Co ...
, which is yellow with the numbers and some details in green, and because the protesters chanted that the
Brazilian flag "will never be red" (in reference to the colours of the communism and Workers' Party) and "will always be green and yellow".
* In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, yellow does not have any dominant political connotation, and so is commonly used by
Elections Canada
Elections Canada () is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering elections in Canada, Canadian federal elections and Referendums in Canada, referendums.
History
Elections Canada is an agency of the Parliament of Canada, and reports ...
as a politically neutral colour and as a high-visibility colour to mark polling stations.
* In
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
, yellow is used by the right-wing liberal
Reform Party.
* In
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, yellow represents the
pro-democracy supporters.
(See also
Yellow economic circle.)
* In
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
, yellow represents the
pro-democracy supporters.
* In
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, yellow was formerly used by
Bersih (The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections).
* In the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, yellow is commonly associated with the
centre to
centre-left
Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
although other colours such as red and blue are used.
* In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, yellow is used by the liberal centrist party
Poland 2050.
* In
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, yellow is used by the
National Liberal Party (PNL).
* In
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, yellow associated with historically
Uri Party and former
President Roh Moo-hyun supporters. Since 2015,
Justice Party adopted the colour.
* In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, regionally:
** Yellow is the colour used by supporters of the
Catalan independence movement. Since 2017, separatists adopted the
yellow ribbon as one of their symbols along with the (pro-independence flag).
** Yellow is the customary colour of
Canarian nationalism, with blue and white, the other colours in the
flag of the Canary Islands, also being used.
* In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the colour yellow was the official colour of the suffrage movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 21st century, the
Libertarian Party's official branding colours are
gold-yellow, grey, and black. The gold-yellow colour is prominent because of the historical association with classical liberalism and in reference to a gold-backed currency and free markets.
* In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the colour yellow is predominantly used by the
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
,
Liberal Democrats, and
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. The use of political yellow dates back to David Lloyd George's publication of "
Britain's Industrial Future" in the early to mid-1920s. Yellow denotes freedom, advancement, and novelty, with special importance on the freedom representing the desire of independence for the SNP.
By country
Germany
In Germany, colours are commonly used by media and politicians as signals of political affiliation; this public practice helps them reach the increasing number of unaffiliated voters.
Colour schemes used by major political parties in Germany include the following:
*
Social Democratic Party (SPD): red
*
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and
Christian Social Union (CSU): black (in federal elections)
*
Alliance 90/The Greens: green
*
Free Democratic Party (FDP): yellow
*
Alternative for Germany (AfD): blue
*
The Left (Die Linke): red or magenta
United Kingdom
* In
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, the
Unionist parties in the
Northern Ireland Assembly are called the "orange block" and the
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
parties are the "green block".
** Some of the established political parties use or have used different colour variations in certain localities. This was common in British politics up to the 1970s. The traditional colour of the
Penrith and the Border Conservatives was yellow, rather than dark blue, even in the
2010 election Conservative candidates in Penrith and the neighbouring constituency of
Westmorland and Lonsdale wore blue and yellow rosettes. In
North East England, the Conservatives traditionally used red, Labour green and the Liberals blue and orange. In parts of
East Anglia, the Conservatives used pink and blue, while in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
their colours were orange and purple. The Liberals and Conservatives used blue and red respectively in
West Wales, while in parts of
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
the Liberals were red and Labour yellow. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Tories used orange in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, pink in
Whitby and red in
East Worcestershire, while the Whigs were blue in
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...
, purple in
Marlborough and orange in
Wakefield. The traditional colour of the
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
Liberals was green, rather than orange.
United States of America

* In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
the two major political parties use the
national colours, i.e. red, white and blue. Historically, the only common situation in which it has been necessary to assign a single colour to a party has been in the production of political maps in graphical displays of election results. In such cases, there had been no consistent association of particular parties with particular colours. Between the early 1970s and 1992, most television networks used blue to denote states carried by the
Democratic Party and red to denote states carried by the
Republican Party in presidential elections. A unified colour scheme (blue for Democrats, red for Republicans) began to be implemented with the 1996 presidential election; in the weeks following the 2000 election, there arose the terminology of
red states and blue states. Political observers latched on to this association, which resulted from the use of red for Republican victories and blue for Democratic victories on the display map of a television network. As of November 2012, maps for presidential elections produced by the U.S. government also use blue for Democrats and red for Republicans.
In September 2010, the Democratic Party officially adopted an all-blue logo.
Around the same time, the official Republican website began using a red logo.
** This association has potential to confuse foreign observers in that, as described above, red is traditionally a left-wing colour (as used with the
Democratic Socialists of America), while blue is typically associated with right-wing politics.
This is further complicated by the diversity of
factions in the Democratic Party ranging from conservatives to right-libertarians to
democratic socialists alongside the dominant centrist and social liberal elements of the party that outside the United States often each use different political colours.
** The conservative
Blue Dog Coalition within the Democratic Party adopted the colour blue at its founding, before the 2000 election solidified the red-blue convention.
** There is some historical use of blue for Democrats and red for Republicans: in the late 19th century and early 20th century,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
county election boards used colour-coding to help Spanish speakers and illiterates identify the parties, but this system was not applied consistently in Texas and was not picked up on a national level. For instance in
1888,
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
and
Benjamin Harrison used maps that coded blue for the Republicans, the colour Harrison perceived to represent the Union and "
Lincoln's Party" and red for the Democrats.
** In
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, the main party, the pro-statehood
New Progressive Party uses blue, while the
Popular Democratic Party uses red, and the
Puerto Rican Independence Party uses green.
Notes
See also
*
Political uniform
*
List of political ideologies
*
List of political party symbols
*
NATO Military Symbols for Land Based Systems#Affiliation
References
{{colour topics, colour
Political terminology
Colour
Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...
Color in culture