Flag of Iraq
Three equal horizontal bands of red, white and black, with the phrase Allahu Akbar written in green Kufic script in the centre of the white band.
What the flag means
Red, white, black and green are the Pan-Arab colours. Iraq's government protocol office traces them to a verse by the poet Safi al-Din al-Hilli. The 2008 flag law describes them as 'the Islamic colours'.
History
The stripes come from the Arab Liberation Flag, first used in Egypt's 1952 revolution. Iraq adopted them in 1963 with three green stars, and in January 1991 Saddam Hussein added the Takbir in his own handwriting. In 2004 it was redrawn in Kufic script. Kurdish groups objected to the stars, which they associated with the Anfal campaign, and on 22 January 2008 the Council of Representatives approved a flag without them. It was meant to be temporary, for one year, but it is still in use.
In 2004 a proposed new flag with a blue crescent, designed by Rifat Chadirji, was dropped after protests.
Earlier flags of Iraq
- 1924–1959Kingdom: black, white and green with a red trapezium and two white stars
- 1959–1963Vertical black, white and green with a red star over a yellow circle
- 1963–1991Red, white and black with three green stars
- 1991–2008Three green stars and the Takbir, handwritten until 2004, then in Kufic script
Flags that look like this one
Red, white and black stripes. Egypt has a golden eagle and Iraq has green Arabic script. Yemen's flag is the plain tricolour.
Flags of Iraq's neighbours
Sources
- Wikipedia: Flag of Iraq
- Flags of the World: Iraq
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Read how we research flags in our editorial policy, or report a mistake.
