Flag of Afghanistan
The Afghanistan flag now flown by the country's government is white with the Islamic declaration of faith written in black. Before August 2021 the national flag was a black, red and green tricolor with an emblem, which many Afghans still use.
What the flag of Afghanistan looks like
The flag used by the current authorities in Kabul is a plain white rectangle with a line of black Arabic script across the middle. The text is the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God." The flag is twice as wide as it is tall (1:2). It was raised over the capital after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, and it was formally in use as the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The flag that most of the world knew until then was a vertical tricolor of black, red and green. It had the national emblem in the center, in white, which shows a mosque with a mihrab (a prayer niche facing Mecca) and a minbar (pulpit), flanked by flags and surrounded by wheat sheaves, with the shahada above and an inscription naming the country below. This is the design that many people mean when they search for the old Afghan flag. It is still used by many Afghans abroad and by some diplomatic missions of the former government.
You can see the emoji version on our Afghanistan flag emoji page.
Afghanistan flag colors
Color codes measured from the official design. Use HEX for the web and CMYK for print.
HEX
#FFFFFFRGB
255, 255, 255CMYK
0, 0, 0, 0 HEX
#000000RGB
0, 0, 0CMYK
0, 0, 0, 100 Afghanistan flag meaning and symbolism
The white flag with black script is a religious statement. White is used for purity and peace, and black text states the faith. The Taliban first used a white flag with the creed in the 1990s, for the same reason. The Taliban describe the white as standing for the purity of their faith and government.
The black, red and green tricolor has a commonly cited meaning, though Afghans do not always agree on it. One common reading takes black for the past, red for the blood shed in the struggle for independence, and green for hope, prosperity and Islam. Others read the colors as the past, the present and the future.
The disagreement over which flag represents the country is political. Supporters of the white flag see it as a restoration of Islamic rule. Supporters of the tricolor say it is the symbol of the Afghan nation, independent from any one government, and some Afghans abroad hold rallies with the tricolor for that reason.
History of the Afghan flag
Afghanistan has changed its national flag many times. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, flags were mostly black, the color of the Afghan emirs, and often carried an emblem of a mosque. The first black, red and green tricolor appeared in the late 1920s under King Amanullah Khan, a modernizing ruler who wanted to give Afghanistan a national flag in the style of European states. After his fall the flag changed again, and the tricolor was restored under King Mohammed Nadir Shah. The design of vertical black, red and green stripes with the emblem was settled in 1931 and remained in use for decades.
After the 1973 coup that ended the monarchy, Mohammed Daoud Khan's republic first kept the same flag, minus the date under the mosque, and in 1974 introduced a new emblem with an eagle. The communist government that took power in 1978 introduced an almost all-red flag, and later versions in the 1980s brought the tricolor back with a different emblem. When the mujahideen took power in 1992, the flag was changed again to green, white and black with the Islamic creed. In 1996 the Taliban captured Kabul and used a plain white flag. In 1997 they added the shahada in black, and that flag served the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan until 2001.
After the fall of the Taliban, an interim government adopted a black, red and green tricolor in 2002, and the constitution of 2004 set out a version with an updated emblem. The latest version was adopted in 2013. In August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power, the white flag replaced it on government buildings. Most governments have not formally recognised the Taliban authorities, so the question of the "official" flag depends on who is asked.
Afghanistan flag facts
| Country | Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan |
|---|---|
| Flag adopted | August 15, 2021 |
| Proportions | 1:2 |
| Colors | #FFFFFF, #000000 |
| Flag emoji | 🇦🇫 |
| Country code | AF, AFG (ISO 3166) |
| Capital | Kabul |
| Continent | Asia |
| Population | 41,454,761 |
| Area | 652,230 km² |
| Currency | afghani |
| National anthem | This Is the Home of the Brave |
Afghanistan flag: frequently asked questions
Why does Afghanistan have two flags?
The white flag with the Islamic creed is used by the Taliban authorities in Kabul since 2021. The black, red and green tricolor was the flag of the former republic and is still used at the United Nations, by many diplomatic missions of the former government, at international sports events and by many Afghans abroad.
Why did they change the Afghanistan flag?
The flag changed when the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021, replacing the republic's tricolor. Afghanistan's flag has changed many times in the 20th century with each new government.
What does the writing on the Afghanistan flag say?
It is the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith: there is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.
What country is the flag emoji 🇦🇫?
The emoji stands for Afghanistan, a landlocked country in South and Central Asia, bordering Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. Its capital is Kabul.
What does the Afghanistan flag represent?
The current white flag with the shahada represents the Taliban's purity of faith and government, and the creed was added after 1997. The older black, red and green tricolor is read as the past, blood shed for independence, and hope.
