Flag of Turkey
Officially Republic of Türkiye
Locally Türkiye
What the flag looks like
A red field with a white crescent, opening towards the fly, and a white five-pointed star just beyond it, both slightly towards the hoist.
What it means
A popular legend says the design is the reflection of the crescent moon and a star in a pool of blood after a battle; it derives from late Ottoman flags.
How to remember it
Turkey
is a white crescent and star on plain red; Tunisia
sets its red crescent and star inside a white disc.
Fun facts
- The exact proportions of the flag were set by the Turkish Flag Law of 1936.
- Istanbul spans two continents, Europe and Asia, divided by the Bosphorus strait.
Turkey at a glance
- Capital
- Ankara
- Region
- Western Asia
- Population
- 86 million
- Area
- 783,562 km²
- Languages
- Turkish
- Currency
- Turkish lira (₺)
- Flag adopted
- 1936
Flags often confused with Turkey
- Tunisia: Tunisia and Turkey both show a crescent and star on red. Tunisia has a red crescent and star inside a white disc in the center; Turkey's white crescent and star sit directly on the red.
- Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan and Turkey both show a white crescent and star on red. Turkey's flag is all red; Azerbaijan's red is only the middle of blue, red and green stripes.
- Pakistan: Pakistan and Turkey both show a white crescent and star. Turkey's field is red; Pakistan's is dark green with a white band at the hoist.