Azerbaijan

The flag of Azerbaijan is a horizontal tricolour featuring the colours (from the top of the flag to the bottom of the flag) blue, red and green. At the centre of the flag is a white crescent moon and a white eight pointed star. The flag of Azerbeijan was adopted on 9 November 1918 during a brief period of independence; however, was replaced by the USSR flag when the country came under USSR rule in 1920. The flag was officially re-adopted on 5 February 1991 following Azerbaijan gaining its independence from the USSR.

The colours of the Azerbaijan flag hold various symbolism - blue is associated with the Turkic people, red recalls European influence whilst green is the traditional colour of Islam (Azerbaijan has a majority Muslim population). Together, these colours line up with the Azerbaijan motto - "to Turkify Islamisise and Europeanise".

The flag's white crescent and eight pointed star are similar to that of the flag of Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan. The eight points on the star represent the eight groups of Turkic speaking people - Azeris, Ottomans, Jagatais, Tatars, Kipchaks, Seljuks and Turkomans.

The flag was designed by Ali bey Huseynzade. The flag's ratio is 1:2.

The flag of Azerbaijan flying