Flag of Egypt - Definition and Overview

The flag of Egypt in its current form was adopted on October 4, 1984.

History

The first national flag of modern Egypt was adopted when Egypt gained partial independence from the United Kingdom in 1922. It consisted of a white crescent with three stars on a green background.

Following the 1952 coup, the flag was replaced by the current red-white-black tricolour structure, and has since seen only changes to the central emblem: under the United Arab Republic (1958-1971), the white stripe contained two green stars; in 1972-1984, a golden hawk of Quraish; and since 1984, a golden eagle of Saladin with a superimposed shield, and a scroll bearing the country's name in Arabic.

Symbolism

The colors of the current flag are traditional Pan-Arabic colors, also seen on the flags of Yemen, Syria and Iraq. The central emblem represents the eagle of Saladin.

The three stars in the 1922 flag supposedly represented the three peoples of Egypt: Muslims, Christians and Jews.