Flag of Egypt

What the flag looks like

Three horizontal stripes of red, white and black, with a golden Eagle of Saladin in the center of the white stripe.

What it means

Red recalls the struggle before the 1952 revolution, white the bloodless revolution itself, and black the end of oppression; the eagle is the Eagle of Saladin.

How to remember it

Egypt's red-white-black has a golden eagle in the middle; Iraq writes green Arabic script there and Yemen leaves it blank.

Fun facts

• From 1958 to 1972 Egypt flew a red-white-black flag with two green stars, representing Egypt and Syria in the United Arab Republic.
• Between 1972 and 1984 the center held a golden Hawk of Quraish before the eagle replaced it.

Egypt at a glance

Capital

Cairo

Region

Northern Africa

Population

117 million

Area

1,002,450 km²

Languages

Arabic

Currency

Egyptian pound (ج.م)

Flag adopted

1984

Flags often confused with Egypt

• Iraq: Egypt and Iraq are both red, white and black. Egypt has a gold eagle in the center; Iraq has green Arabic script instead.
• Yemen: Egypt and Yemen are both red, white and black. Egypt has a gold eagle in the center; Yemen's flag is plain.
• Sudan: Egypt and Sudan are both red, white and black. Egypt has a gold eagle in the center; Sudan has a green triangle at the hoist.
• Syria: Egypt and Syria both have white and black stripes with an emblem in the middle. Egypt's top stripe is red with a gold eagle; Syria's top stripe is green, with three red stars.