Liberia

3×5' nylon national flag of Liberia.

No national flag is closer kin to the Stars and Stripes than Liberia's. Founded by free Black Americans and formerly enslaved people from the United States, Liberia declared independence in 1847 under a flag modeled directly on the American one.

Design

Eleven horizontal stripes alternating red and white, with a dark blue square canton bearing a single white five-pointed star.

History & Symbolism

The flag was adopted on 26 July 1847, the day of independence. The eleven stripes stand for the eleven signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence. The star, giving the flag its name, "the Lone Star," stood for Liberia as the only independent republic in Africa at the time. Red is read as courage, white as moral excellence, and blue as freedom and justice.

Flag Specifications

• Adopted: 26 July 1847
• Official proportions: 10:19
• Colors: red, white, dark blue
• Emblem: the Lone Star

Vexillographer's Note

Liberia uses the same 10:19 ratio as the official US flag. Its canton is square and covers five stripes rather than seven.

Humphrys Flag Company · Old City Philadelphia · Est. 1864