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Syria

Sūriya, Syrian Arab Republic, Al-Jumhūriyyah al-Arabiyyah as-Sūriyyah

Last modified: 2024-12-14 by ian macdonald
Keywords: syria | syrian arab republic | suriyya | al-jumhuriyya al-’arabiyya as-suriyya | president | stars: 2 (green) | ba’ath party | politics | arab league | league of arab states |
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[Syria] 2:3 image by Zoltan Horvath, 5 November 2024

Given the recent events in Syria (December 2024), it appears highly likely that the flag will change, possibly to the historic green-white-black tricolor with three red stars. More details at Syrian Interim Government. [ed.]

Official Name: الجمهورية العربية السورية [Al-Jumhūriyyah al-Arabiyyah as-Sūriyyah], Syrian Arab Republic
Short Form: سوريا or سورية [Sūriya], Syria
Flag Adopted: 1958 (abandoned 1961, readopted 30 Mar 1980)
Coat of Arms Adopted: unknown

See also: Other sites:

Introduction

There are quite a lot of flags in Syria: not only on official buildings you always find the national flag and mostly the Ba'ath Party flag, but also on private buildings. In the Suqs there are lines with many little flags, often alternating the national flag and the Ba'ath Party flag. However, there are certainly some regional differences: In Damascus you see a lot of flags, also in the Suq; in the second-largest city, Aleppo, there are no flags in the Suq, but there are Islamic writings (for example the Shahada, as in the Saudi flag) hanging from the lines just as the little flags in the Damascus Suq; in Homs you can see the little triangular flags; in the parts along the Euphrates, for example near Der-ez-Zor, I saw some national flags without stars. However, there seem to be no regional flags or city flags.
M. Schmöger, 01 May 1997

The Syrian flag is described in Article 6 of the Constitution of Syria:

"The flag of the Syrian Arab Republic consists of three colors: red, white and black, in addition to two stars, each with five heads of green color. The flag is rectangular in shape; its width equals two thirds of its length and consists of three rectangles evenly spaced along the flag, the highest in red, the middle in white and lowest in black, and the two stars are in the middle of the white rectangle; The law identifies the state's emblem, its national anthem and the respective provisions."
https://www.refworld.org/docid/5100f02a2.html
Zoltan Horvath, 5 November 2024

Colour Specifications

The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012 [loc12]) provides recommendations for national flag designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag, including the PMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs may not be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC believed the flag to be.
For Syria: PMS 032 red, 355 green and black. The vertical flag is simply the horizontal version turned 90 degrees clockwise.
Ian Sumner, 10 October 2012

The Flag Manual - Beijing 2008 gives Pantone colors: PMS 032 (red), PMS 355 (green), and Black.

The Album des Pavillons 2000 [pay00] gives approximate colors in Pantone and CMYK systems:
Red: Pantone 186c, CMYK 0-90-80-5
Green; Pantone 354c, CMYK 90-0-85-10

The Album des Pavillons 2023 specifies the colors of the flags in three color systems:
Blue: Pantone Reflex blue, CMYK 100-91-24-7, RGB 0-20-137
Blue: Pantone 635c, CMYK 36-0-8-0, RGB 173-221-235
Red: Pantone 186c, CMYK 10-100-74-2, RGB 210-16-52
Green: Pantone 354c, CMYK 79-0-98-0, RGB 0-171-57

Vexilla Mundi gives colors in Pantone system: PMS 186C (red), PMS White, PMS Black, and PMS 354C (green).

Wikipedia illustrates the flag, and construction details, and gives color values as follows:
Red: RGB 206-17-38, Hex # CE1126, CMYK 12-100-98-3, Pantone 186 C
White: RGB 255-255-255, Hex #FFFFFF, CMYK 0-0-0-0, Pantone White
Green: RGB 0-122-61, Hex # 007A3D, CMYK 89-27-100-15, Pantone 7726 C
Black: RGB 0-0-0, Hex #000000, CMYK 75-68-67-90, Pantone Black

Flag Color Codes gives the following color values:
Red: Hex # CE1126, RGB 206-17-38, CMYK 0-90-76-0, Pantone 032, RAL 3028
White: Hex #FFFFFF, RGB 255-255-255, CMYK 0-0-0-0, Pantone N/A, RAL N/A
Green: Hex # 007A3D, RGB 0-122-61, CMYK 93-0-100-0, Pantone 355, RAL 6029
Black: Hex #000000, RGB 0-0-0, CMYK 0-0-0-100, Pantone Black, RAL 9005

Zoltan Horvath, 5 November 2024

Meaning of the Colours

[Ed.: see also Pan-Arab Colours for a historical explanation of the colours.]
Red symbolizes the struggle and sacrifice for freedom; white signifies peace; and black stands for the dark colonial past.
Source: [Crampton 1985]
Jarig Bakker, 21 July 1999

Vertical Flag [Click on image for full size]
[Vertical Syrian flag] 4:1

Besides the normal horizontal usage of the flag you can see it displayed vertically as well, be it painted on a wall or hanging on a building. The vertical examples are usually quite long (proportions from 3:1 up to 8:1).
M. Schmöger, 01 May 1997

   
image by M. Schmöger

Flag Variants [Click on images for full size]

The national flag of Syria, as we know, is shown in a lot of different variants in Syria. There are four main variables in which individual flags can differ from one another.

  • The first variable is proportion: this should be 2:3, but you can see 1:2 as well:

    [Syrian flag variant, ratio 1:2]
     
     
    image by M. Schmöger
     

  • The second variable is orientation of stars: they can point upwards (as in the FOTW Syrian flag), downwards, to the hoist or to the fly:
    [Syrian flag variant, stars pointing downwards]

    [Syrian flag variant, stars pointing to the hoist]

    [Syrian flag variant, stars pointing to the fly]
     
     
     
    image by M. Schmöger
    image by M. Schmöger
    image by M. Schmöger
     
     
     
  • The third variable is size of stars: sometimes they have only the size of a third or a fifth of a stripe width:

    [Syrian flag variant, stars 1/3th stripe]

    [Syrian flag variant, stars 1/5rd stripe]
     
     
    image by M. Schmöger
    image by M. Schmöger
     
     
  • The fourth variable is location of stars: above they are spaced one third of the flag length from each other, but you can see them spaced a half of the flag length from each other as well:

    [Syrian flag variant, stars overspaced]
     
     
    image by M. Schmöger
     
  • Furthermore, I also saw flags without any stars:

    [Syrian flag variant, no stars]
     
     
    image by M. Schmöger
     

M. Schmöger, 01 May 1997

As a Syrian, please allow me to make a correction. The variation of the flag without the two stars does not exist; this would be the flag of Yemen.
Moaz Marouf, 10 Oct 2000

A swallowtailed variant, depicted on a Syrian National Olympic Committee pin (photo):

[Syrian flag variant, swallowtailed] image by Eugene Ipavec

Eugene Ipavec, 31 Sep 2007

Lebanese-Syrian Flag

[During the 2005 Lebanon protests] I heard on the radio of a "Syrian flag with the Lebanese cedar added in the middle."
Ivan Sache, 10 Mar 2005

National Arms

[Syrian arms] image by Zoltan Horvath, 5 November 2024

Upon a Hawk of Quraish Or, a shield tierced per pale Gules, Argent, and Sable, two mullets palewise Vert with the (Arabic) motto الجمهورية العربية السورية (Syrian Arab Republic)
Christopher Southworth, 12 October 2024