Why do passports only come in four colors?

Ammon

27-05-2025

Ammon News - Passports around the world conform to one of four colours.
Travellers will hold either a red, blue, green or black passport - and here's why.
What does a red passport mean?
Often, the colour of a passport indicates the economic union a country belongs to.
The majority of the EU has a red passport although this excludes Croatia which is blue.
Passports of this colour have the words 'European Union' printed on the cover, accompanied by the name of the issuing EU State.
Citizens of nations with a communist history like Slovenia, Serbia, Latvia, Romania, China, Russia, Poland, and Georgia have red passports.
Countries interested in joining the EU, including Turkey, Macedonia, and Albania, also changed their passports to red a few years ago.
Other countries that favour red include Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.
What does a blue passport mean?
The most common colour is blue, with 84 countries issuing them.
There are 15 Caribbean countries that use this colour for their passports.
The block of South American countries, including, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, also use the blue passport – the cover symbolising the connection with Mercosur, a trade union.
One of the most famous blue passports is the one issued to US citizens, but these were only changed to blue in 1976.
The brightest blue passports belong to Fiji and Tuvalu, along with Kenya.
The UK also has blue passports since leaving the EU.
What does a green passport mean?
Most Muslim countries use green passports, with examples including Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
This is because green is considered to be the favourite colour of the Prophet Muhammad.
The colour is also thought of as being a symbol of nature and life.
Several West African countries, including Nigeria, Niger and Segal, also have a green passport, but in their case indicates that they belong to ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States).
What does a black passport mean?
Black is the rarest colour when it comes to passports - with just seven countries issuing them.
This includes African countries Angola, Congo and Malawi, along with Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, Tajikistan and Palestinian Territories.