Singapore’s flag is divided horizontally into red over white and includes a white crescent and five white stars in the upper-left canton. The stars form a pentagon beside the crescent.
The flag was adopted on 3 December 1959, when Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag after Singapore became independent from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye led the committee that designed it.
Red represents universal brotherhood and equality, while white represents purity and virtue. The crescent symbolizes a young nation on the rise. The five stars stand for democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality—Singapore’s national ideals.
Singapore’s design is sometimes confused with Indonesia’s flag because both use red over white. Indonesia has no crescent or stars. Turkey has a white crescent and star on red, but no white lower half, while Malaysia’s flag has alternating stripes and a crescent with a 14-pointed star.