A brief overview of the meaning, history, and key facts about the national flag of Afghanistan.
Flag of Afghanistan
The current national flag of Afghanistan consists of a white field with the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, written in black Arabic script. It was adopted in August 2021 after the Taliban returned to power and restored the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Flag of Afghanistan (until 2021)
The previous national flag of Afghanistan consisted of three equal vertical stripes of black, red, and green with the national emblem displayed in white at the center. The emblem features a mosque with a mihrab (prayer niche) and minbar (pulpit), flanked by two Afghan flags. Above the mosque appears the shahada written in Arabic. Beneath the mosque appears the word “Afghanistan,” while the emblem is surrounded by sheaves of wheat. At the bottom is the year 1298 in the Hijri calendar (1919 in the Gregorian calendar), marking the year Afghanistan gained independence from British influence.
Printable Afghanistan Flag (PNG Download):
Previous national flag (2004–2021)
Interesting facts about Afghanistan’s flag
1. Afghanistan has changed its national flag more than twenty times since the early twentieth century, making it the country with the most flag changes in the world.
2. The black, red, and green tricolor first appeared in 1928 during the reign of King Amanullah Khan and has been used in many versions of Afghanistan’s flag since then.
3. Following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the white flag with the shahada replaced the previous tricolor flag that had been used by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
4. Despite the change of government, the black-red-green tricolor is still used internationally by some Afghan diplomatic missions, sporting teams, and members of the Afghan diaspora.
Explore more about Afghanistan:
Evolution of Afghanistan’s flag
Emirate of Afghanistan (1901–1919)
A black flag with a white emblem was used during the reign of Emir Habibullah Khan. The emblem included a mosque with a prayer niche and pulpit surrounded by decorative elements.
Kingdom of Afghanistan (1919–1928)
After Afghanistan gained independence in 1919, the national emblem was modified but the black background remained. This was the first of many flag variations used during this time period.
Kingdom of Afghanistan (1928–1973)
King Amanullah Khan introduced the black, red, and green tricolor in 1928. Variations of this design were used for much of the twentieth century.
Fornax., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)
After the 1973 coup, Afghanistan initially continued using a flag very similar to the former royal tricolor. In 1974, the republic adopted a new flag with a golden eagle emblem, which remained in use until 1978.
Communist Afghanistan (1978–1980)
The tricolor flag was eventually replaced in October 1978 by a red flag with a yellow socialist emblem.
Soviet-backed Afghanistan (1980–1992)
The black-red-green tricolor returned during the Soviet-backed government. The emblem initially included socialist symbols such as a red star, but these were later removed in a redesigned emblem during the late 1980s.
Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–1996)
A new tricolor flag with Islamic inscriptions and the national emblem was introduced after the fall of the communist government.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1997–2001)
The Taliban introduced a white flag with the shahada written in black Arabic script.
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)
A vertical tricolor of black, red, and green with the national emblem in white was adopted under the 2004 constitution.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (2021–present)
After the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the white flag with the black shahada was reinstated as the national flag.
History of Afghanistan’s flag
Early national symbols
Afghanistan’s earliest modern national flags were solid black banners used during the Emirate of Afghanistan in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Independence and reforms
After Afghanistan gained independence in 1919, several changes were made to the national flag during the modernization reforms of King Amanullah Khan.
Introduction of the tricolor
In 1928, Afghanistan introduced the black, red, and green tricolor flag. Variations of this design were used for much of the twentieth century.
Political upheaval and frequent flag changes
Afghanistan experienced numerous political changes during the twentieth century, including monarchy, republic, socialist government and Islamic state rule.
Each regime introduced new national flags or modifications to existing designs.
Taliban rule and later governments
The Taliban first introduced a white flag with the shahada in 1997, which remained in use until their government collapsed in 2001.
Modern period
After the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, a tricolor flag with the national emblem was adopted in 2004.
Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, the white shahada flag was reinstated.
Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.