Flag of Morocco

What the flag of Morocco looks like

The flag of Morocco is a red field with a green pentagram in the middle. The pentagram is not a filled star. It is formed by five straight green lines that cross each other, leaving a small pentagon open in the center, so the red background shows through. This is why it is often called an interlaced pentagram or a five-pointed seal. The flag has a ratio of 2:3, and the star points upward.

There are no stripes, text or coat of arms on the national flag. Because the national flag is so simple, it is easy to recognize at a distance, but it can be confused with the flag of Vietnam, which is also red with a single star in the middle. The Vietnamese star is yellow and solid, while the Moroccan one is green and drawn in outline.

You can see how the flag looks as an emoji on the Morocco flag emoji page, or get image files from the download page.

Moroccan flag meaning and symbolism

The red field is linked to the Alaouite dynasty, which has ruled Morocco since the 17th century and traces its descent to the Prophet Muhammad through Fatima, the wife of Ali. Red is also said to represent the blood of the ancestors and unity.

The green star is called the Seal of Solomon (Khatam Sulayman) in the Islamic tradition. The five points represent the five pillars of Islam: the declaration of faith, prayer, charity, fasting during Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca. The law specifies the green as palm green.

These meanings are traditional rather than set out in law. The Moroccan constitution only states that the flag is red with a green five-pointed star.

The pentagram has nothing to do with the Star of David, which has six points and does not appear on any version of the Moroccan flag.

History of the Moroccan flag

For centuries Moroccan dynasties used banners of a single color. When the Alaouite dynasty took power in the 17th century, its flag was solid red at first, a color also used by the Sharifs of Mecca.

The green star was added in 1915. Morocco had become a French protectorate in 1912, with a Spanish zone in the north and the international city of Tangier. On 17 November 1915 Sultan Yusef signed a dahir introducing the current design, a red field with a green five-pointed seal of Solomon. The dahir explains that the earlier flag was very similar to some other flags, especially maritime signals, so the star was added to distinguish it.

Under French and Spanish control the flag stayed in use only inland, as its use at sea was prohibited. After independence in 1956 it was allowed to serve as the maritime flag too, and it has stayed the national flag of the Kingdom of Morocco ever since. This is also the answer to a frequent question about "the old Moroccan flag": before 1915 the flag was the plain red banner without a star.

Today the flag is flown on public buildings and on national holidays such as Throne Day on 30 July and Independence Day on 18 November.

Colors of the Moroccan flag

The flag uses only two colors, red and green. They are also two of the traditional pan-Arab colors, and the combination of red and green is common across the Maghreb and the Arab world. Red makes up nearly all of the surface, with the green star taking up a small part in the middle. To find the exact values for printing and web use, see the color swatches on this page.

Morocco's neighbor Algeria uses green as well, but in a very different design: two vertical halves of green and white with a red crescent and star.