Flag of United States
North America
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Washington, D.C.
- Flag adopted
- 1960
- Population
- 340,110,988
- Area
- 9,525,067 km²
- Languages
- English
- Currency
- United States dollar ($) — USD
- Demonym
- American
- Government
- constitutional federal republic
- Subregion
- North America
- Driving side
- Right
- Timezones
- UTC-12:00, UTC-11:00 +9 more
- Independence
- 1776
Religions
- Protestant 47.4%
- Unspecified 23.4%
- Roman Catholic 20.8%
- Jewish 1.9%
- Other 1.8%
- Latter-day Saint 1.6%
- Muslim 0.9%
- Jehovah's Witness 0.8%
- Buddhist 0.7%
- Hindu 0.7%
About This Flag
The flag of the United States, known as the Stars and Stripes or Old Glory, features 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes and a blue canton in the upper-left corner bearing 50 small white five-pointed stars arranged in nine staggered rows. The 13 stripes represent the original thirteen colonies that declared independence from Britain in 1776.
The 50 stars represent the current 50 states of the union. Red symbolizes valor and hardiness, white represents purity and innocence, and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
The current 50-star version was adopted on July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became the 50th state, making it the 27th official version of the American flag since 1777.
What the colors & design mean
The 13 stripes represent the original thirteen colonies. The 50 stars represent the current 50 states. Red symbolizes valor and hardiness, white represents purity and innocence, and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
Pattern: Horizontal Stripes, Canton Design
Bordering countries (2)
Fun Facts
- The current 50-star design was created by 17-year-old Robert Heft of Ohio as a high school project in 1958 — his teacher gave him a B- but changed it to an A after the design was selected by President Eisenhower.
- There have been 27 official versions of the American flag, each time adding stars as new states joined the union — the flag with the longest service was the 48-star version (1912-1959).
- The American flag has been planted on the moon six times during the Apollo missions (1969-1972), though scientists believe most have since been bleached white by decades of unfiltered sunlight.
- By U.S. Flag Code, the flag should never touch the ground, be used as clothing, or be displayed with the union (blue canton) down except as a distress signal.
Similar looking flags
These flags share similar colors and patterns:
More North America Flags
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda · 🇧🇸 Bahamas · 🇧🇧 Barbados · 🇧🇿 Belize · 🇨🇦 Canada · 🇨🇷 Costa Rica · 🇨🇺 Cuba · 🇩🇲 Dominica
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