Syria: Flag and Facts
Syria's flag has green, white and black horizontal stripes of equal size, with three red five-pointed stars lined up across the white band.
- Official name
- Syrian Arab Republic
- Capital
- Damascus
- Region
- Western Asia
- Population
- 24 million (2025)
- Languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- Syrian pound
- Area
- 185,180 km² (71,498 sq mi)
- People
- Syrian
- Calling code
- +963
- Highest point
- Mount Hermon (Jabal a-Shayk) 2,814 m
- Independence
- 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French…)
- National symbols
- northern bald ibis
About Syria
When World War I ended, France took a mandate over the northern part of the old Ottoman province of Syria. French rule lasted until independence on 17 April 1946, which is still celebrated as Evacuation Day. The young state saw a string of military coups. It merged with Egypt as the United Arab Republic in 1958, then split off again in 1961. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War it lost the Golan Heights.
The current flag was taken up by opponents of the Asad government in 2011 and became the official national flag in 2025. Its design matches an earlier Syrian flag used from 1932 to 1958 and again for a short stretch starting in 1961. Desert and semiarid plateau cover most of the land, with a thin coastal plain and mountains in the west. About 24.3 million people live here.
Did you know?
- The northern bald ibis is Syria's national symbol.
- The Yarmuk River marks the lowest point, 66 meters below sea level.
- Mount Hermon, the highest peak, reaches 2,814 meters.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about Syria
What is the capital of Syria?
Damascus is the capital, with about 2.6 million people. Aleppo is close behind at around 2.2 million.
What did the stripes on Syria's flag stand for?
In the earlier version, white, black and green stood for three historic caliphates: Umayyad, Abbasid and Rashidun.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.