Flag of Yemen

What the flag looks like

Three equal horizontal stripes of red, white and black, with no emblem.

What it means

Red represents the blood shed for unity and independence, white a bright future, and black the dark past.

How to remember it

Yemen is the plain red-white-black tricolor; add a gold eagle for Egypt or green script for Iraq.

Fun facts

• The flag was adopted on 22 May 1990, when North and South Yemen unified.
• The old walled city of Shibam, with its mud-brick tower houses, is sometimes called the "Manhattan of the Desert".
• Yemen's Socotra archipelago is home to the dragon's blood tree, found nowhere else.

Yemen at a glance

Capital

Sana'a

Region

Western Asia

Population

41 million

Area

527,968 km²

Languages

Arabic

Currency

Yemeni rial (﷼)

Flag adopted

1990

Flags often confused with Yemen

• Egypt: Egypt and Yemen are both red, white and black. Egypt has a gold eagle in the center; Yemen's flag is plain.
• Iraq: Iraq and Yemen are both red, white and black horizontal stripes. Iraq has green Arabic script ("Allahu akbar") across the white stripe; Yemen's flag is completely plain.
• Syria: Syria and Yemen both have horizontal stripes with white in the middle and black at the bottom. Syria has green on top and three red stars; Yemen has red on top and no emblem.