Flag of Syria

What the new flag of Syria looks like

The Syrian flag has three horizontal bands of equal height: green at the top, white in the middle and black at the bottom. On the white band, there are three red five-pointed stars arranged in a row. The proportions are 2:3.

This is the flag that Syria adopted in 1932 under the French mandate and used at independence in 1946. The flag it replaced in December 2024 had red, white and black stripes, with two green stars on the white band, so it is easy to tell them apart: the new one has green on top and red stars, the old one had red on top and green stars. The Syria flag emoji may show either version, depending on the platform.

Syria flag meaning and symbolism

The four colors, green, white, black and red, are the Pan-Arab colors, which come from the Arab Revolt of 1916. They are traditionally linked to Arab dynasties: green to the Fatimids, white to the Umayyads, black to the Abbasids and red to the Hashemites, though sources differ on the exact assignment.

In the flag adopted in 1932 the three red stars were often said to represent the main regions of Syria at the time, and since the flag came back as a symbol of the opposition in 2011, many Syrians have understood it as a sign of independence and of a break with the previous government. As the flag has been used by different movements, its meaning is not fixed. The older flag's two green stars stood for Syria and Egypt in the short union of 1958 to 1961, and they returned on the flag in 1980.

History of the Syrian flag

Syria has had many flags in the twentieth century. After the First World War, the short-lived Arab Kingdom of Syria (1920) used a flag based on the Arab Revolt, with black, white and green stripes and a red triangle. Under the French mandate, which began in 1920, several state flags were used. In 1932 the Syrian Republic adopted the flag with green, white and black stripes and three red stars, and this was the flag of the country at independence in 1946.

In 1958 Syria merged with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic, whose flag was a red, white and black tricolor with two green stars. After Syria left the union in 1961 it returned to the 1932 flag. In 1963, after the Ba'ath party came to power, the country adopted a red, white and black flag with three green stars. From 1972 to 1980 Syria used a flag with the hawk of Quraish, linked to the Federation of Arab Republics. From 1980 the flag again had red, white and black stripes, now with two green stars, and it remained in use until 2024.

After the Syrian civil war began in 2011, the opposition used the green, white and black flag with three red stars. On 8 December 2024, when the government of Bashar al-Assad fell, this became the flag used by the transitional authorities and was raised on public buildings. The 2024 flag is therefore a return to the 1932 design.

Why were there two Syrian flags?

During the civil war of 2011 to 2024, two flags were used in Syria at the same time. The government used the red, white and black flag with two green stars, and the opposition used the green, white and black flag with three red stars. Which flag appeared depended on who controlled the area, so media and organizations used either one. The question "which flag of Syria is correct" now has a simpler answer: the green, white and black flag has been used since December 2024, and the older red flag is a historic design.

Compare it with the neighboring flags of Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, or browse the flags of the world.