North Macedonia’s national flag has eight rays extending from its stylized sun.
The red flag, adopted on 5 October 1995, shows a yellow sun whose broad rays reach outward toward all four edges and corners. Designer Miroslav Grčev developed the modern design after the country needed a replacement for its first post-Yugoslav flag.
The eight-ray sun is linked to the “new sun of Liberty” mentioned in the Macedonian national anthem, “Denes nad Makedonija” (“Today over Macedonia”). It is also part of the country’s wider national symbolism, rather than a literal scientific depiction of the Sun.
A common mix-up comes from the earlier 1992–1995 flag, often called the Vergina Sun flag. That design had eight main rays plus eight shorter secondary rays, making sixteen visible rays in total. The current national flag has eight broadening rays, so “eight” is the canonical quiz answer.