Although the national flags of each country have different colors and shapes, it is quite rare to find a flag that features the color purple.
Flags of countries rarely feature the color purple. (Photo: iStock).
According to After Skool, there has never been a regulation against using the color purple on national flags. However, countries still refrain from using this color on their flags. The reason is not aesthetic.
Historically, the color purple was produced from a type of sea snail found in a small area of the Mediterranean. It took approximately 10,000 of these snails to produce just 1 gram of purple dye. The cost of producing this dye was quite high before the 19th century. Compared to gold, its value could even exceed that of gold.
Purple clothing did exist but was typically worn only by the extremely wealthy, primarily royalty. There was even a term known as “royal purple.”
It wasn’t until 1856 that William Henry Perkin, a British student, discovered a way to create purple dye at a lower cost. From this point on, purple became more popular. This is also the reason why some flags designed after 1900 might feature a few splashes of purple.
The Dominican Republic and Nicaragua are the only two countries with national flags that use the color purple.
