Pakistan’s flag is a dark green field bearing a white crescent and five-pointed star, alongside a vertical white stripe at the hoist. The white stripe is an important part of the official design, even though quick descriptions often leave it out.
The flag was adopted by Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly on 11 August 1947, shortly before independence. Its design was based on the flag of the All-India Muslim League, which had used a green field with a white crescent and star. The green represents Pakistan’s Muslim-majority population, while the white stripe represents the country’s religious minorities. The crescent and star are commonly associated with progress, light, and knowledge.
The design can be confused with flags of Mauritania, Algeria, and Turkey because all use Islamic crescent-and-star imagery. Mauritania’s flag has red bands and a gold emblem, Algeria is split green and white with a red crescent and star, and Turkey has a red field rather than a green one.