Flag of Uzbekistan

What the flag looks like

Three equal horizontal stripes of blue, white and green separated by thin red lines, with a white crescent and twelve white stars in the upper hoist of the blue stripe.

What it means

Blue represents the sky and water, white peace, green nature and new life, and the red lines the life force; the crescent stands for independence and the twelve stars for the months of the year.

How to remember it

Uzbekistan is blue-white-green with thin red lines and a crescent beside twelve stars, one for each month; Azerbaijan has a red middle stripe.

Fun facts

• Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world; the other is Liechtenstein.
• Samarkand, a major city on the Silk Road, is more than 2,500 years old.

Uzbekistan at a glance

Capital

Tashkent

Region

Central Asia

Population

36 million

Area

447,400 km²

Languages

Russian, Uzbek

Currency

Uzbekistani soʻm (so'm)

Flag adopted

1991

Flags often confused with Uzbekistan

• Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan both have blue top and green bottom stripes with a white crescent. Azerbaijan's middle stripe is red with the crescent centered; Uzbekistan's is white, with the crescent and stars in the upper-left corner.
• Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone and Uzbekistan both use green, white and blue horizontal stripes. Sierra Leone has green on top and no emblem; Uzbekistan has blue on top, thin red lines and a crescent with stars.