Flag of United Kingdom
Europe
Quick Facts
- Capital
- London
- Flag adopted
- 1801
- Population
- 69,281,437
- Area
- 244,376 km²
- Languages
- English
- Currency
- British pound (£) — GBP
- Demonym
- British
- Government
- parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- Subregion
- Northern Europe
- Driving side
- Left
- Timezones
- UTC-08:00, UTC-05:00 +7 more
- Independence
- 1536
Religions
- Christian 59.5%
- None 25.7%
- Unspecified 7.2%
- Muslim 4.4%
- Other 2%
- Hindu 1.3%
About This Flag
The flag of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the Union Jack, combines the crosses of three patron saints into a single composite design: the red Cross of St. George (England) on a white field, the white diagonal Saltire of St.
Andrew (Scotland) on a blue field, and the red diagonal Saltire of St. Patrick (Ireland) on a white field.
The first version combined only the English and Scottish crosses in 1606 following the union of the crowns under James I. The Irish cross was added on January 1, 1801, after the Act of Union with Ireland.
Wales is not represented, as it was already legally part of England when the first Union Flag was created. The flag is technically not symmetrical — the St.
Patrick's Cross is offset within the St. Andrew's Saltire.
What the colors & design mean
The St. George's Cross represents England. The St. Andrew's Saltire represents Scotland. The St. Patrick's Saltire represents Ireland (now Northern Ireland). Their combination symbolizes the political union of the United Kingdom's constituent nations.
Pattern: Cross Design
Bordering countries (1)
Fun Facts
- The Union Jack is deliberately asymmetrical — the red diagonal stripes are offset within the white diagonals, which means the flag has a correct way up, though most people cannot tell the difference.
- Wales has no representation on the Union Jack because it was legally considered part of England since the 13th century, predating the creation of the flag — there are periodic proposals to add a Welsh dragon.
- The name 'Union Jack' was originally used only when the flag was flown at sea from a ship's jackstaff, while 'Union Flag' was the proper term on land — however, a 1908 parliamentary statement declared both names acceptable everywhere.
- The Union Jack is incorporated into the flags of numerous former British territories, including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tuvalu, as a canton in the upper left.
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