Flag of Algeria

The national flag of Algeria has two equal vertical bars, green and white. In the center is a red star and crescent.

Algeria

Use	National flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	July 3, 1962
Design	A red star and crescent centered on a vertical bicolor of green and white.

In Algerian symbolism, green embodies Islam, reflecting faith and spirituality. White signifies purity and peace, illuminating the nation's aspirations for harmony and tranquility. Red symbolizes liberty, representing the enduring struggle for freedom and independence. The crescent and star, emblematic of Islam, are depicted with a distinctive touch—the crescent's horns are slightly closed, a symbol cherished by Algerians for the happiness it brings.

History

Emir Abdelkader, during the French invasion of the regency of Algiers in the early 19th century, is attributed with leading a resistance movement, although evidence directly linking him to the design of the current Algerian flag is lacking. The colors and symbols of the flag are associated with Islam and the Arab dynasties that once ruled in Algeria and beyond.

In the 1920s, Abdelkader's grandson Khaled and Algerian nationalist leader Ahmed Messali Hadj utilized the green-and-white flag as a symbol of opposition to French rule. In the 1950s, both the National Liberation Front and the National Liberation Army rallied behind this flag, which was finally hoisted over an independent Algeria on July 3, 1962.

While the proposed flag in the 1940s by the Democratic Union of the Algerian Manifesto featured the Hand of Fatima, a symbol popular in Algerian culture, it was not included in the 1962 flag. This omission may stem from its association with non-Arab Berbers and traditional ways of life rejected by the National Liberation Front.