Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina

What the Bosnia and Herzegovina flag looks like

The flag has a blue field with a width-to-height ratio of 2:1. On it is a large yellow right-angled triangle. Along the longest side of the triangle, the diagonal one, runs a row of white five-pointed stars. There are nine stars in total: seven full stars and two half stars at the top and bottom, cut off by the edges of the flag, which suggests that the line of stars continues beyond the flag.

The colors are blue, yellow and white. The blue is evocative of the flag of Europe, and white, blue and yellow are colors often associated with neutrality and peace. The yellow triangle is the feature that makes the flag easy to recognize at a glance. You can see it in reduced form in the Bosnia and Herzegovina flag emoji.

Bosnia and Herzegovina flag meaning and symbolism

The three corners of the triangle are commonly said to stand for the three constituent peoples of the country: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. The triangle also represents the approximate shape of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The stars represent Europe and are meant to be infinite in number, which is why they continue off the edges of the flag. The blue background is evocative of the flag of Europe.

The flag was chosen with a political aim. Aside from the colors, it has no historical or other references to the Bosnian state, and it uses no symbol tied to a single ethnic group. The colors are also traditionally associated with Bosnian culture and history.

History of the Bosnia and Herzegovina flag

The medieval Kingdom of Bosnia used the royal symbol of the Kotromanic dynasty, a shield with golden lilies on a blue field. During the Ottoman period and under Austria-Hungary, which annexed the country in 1908, Bosnia and Herzegovina had various banners and arms. After the Second World War, Bosnia and Herzegovina became a republic within federal Yugoslavia. Its flag, adopted on 31 December 1946, was red with the Yugoslav tricolor in the canton.

When the country declared independence in 1992, it adopted a new flag on 20 May 1992, a white field with a blue shield and six golden lilies, drawn from the arms of the medieval Kotromanic kings. Many Bosnian Serbs saw it as representing only the Bosniaks, and the war that followed ended with the Dayton Agreement in 1995. The agreement created a state made up of two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska.

The state needed a common flag, and parliament could not agree on one. In February 1998, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Carlos Westendorp, imposed the present design, which was one of the proposals drafted with international support. It replaced the lily flag on 4 February 1998. The two entities also have their own flags.

Flags that look like Bosnia's flag

A similar flag is that of Kosovo, which is blue with a gold map of the country and a row of six white stars. Both flags combine a blue field, yellow and white stars. The Bosnian flag is also sometimes confused with that of Ukraine because of the blue and yellow colors, but the layout is completely different.