Flag of the United Arab Republic

What the flag looks like

Three equal horizontal stripes of red, white and black, with two green five-pointed stars in the white stripe.

What it means

Red, white and black are the Arab Liberation colors of Egypt's 1952 revolution, and the two stars stood for Egypt and Syria.

How to remember it

The UAR is red-white-black with two green stars, one each for Egypt and Syria; Iraq writes green script there, Egypt today uses a gold eagle, and Yemen leaves the white stripe empty.

Fun facts

• Egypt kept the name United Arab Republic until 1971 and this flag until 1972, a decade after Syria left the union.
• Syria readopted the two-star flag in 1980 and used it until the fall of the Assad government in December 2024.

United Arab Republic at a glance

Existed

1958–1961

Flag used

1958–1961

Today

Egypt and Syria

Capital

Cairo

Region

1958–1961

Languages

Arabic

Currency

Egyptian pound (£), Syrian pound (£)

Flag adopted

1958

Flags often confused with the United Arab Republic

• Iraq: The United Arab Republic and Iraq both have red, white and black stripes with green on the white stripe. The UAR has two green stars; Iraq has green Arabic script.
• Egypt: The United Arab Republic and Egypt both have red, white and black stripes with an emblem on the white. The UAR has two green stars; Egypt has a gold eagle.
• Yemen: The United Arab Republic and Yemen both have red, white and black horizontal stripes. The UAR has two green stars on the white stripe; Yemen's flag is plain.
• Syria: The United Arab Republic and Syria both have white and black stripes with stars on the white. The UAR has red on top with two green stars; Syria today has green on top with three red stars.