Liberia’s national flag has 11 alternating red and white horizontal stripes.
The flag also has a blue canton containing one white five-pointed star. The eleven stripes represent the eleven signatories of Liberia’s Declaration of Independence in 1847. Red and white are commonly interpreted as courage and moral excellence, while the star represents the first independent republic in Africa and the blue canton is associated with the African mainland.
Liberia’s flag strongly resembles the flag of the United States because formerly enslaved Black Americans founded the country with support from the American Colonization Society. The resemblance is therefore historical, not accidental. However, Liberia has one star, whereas the United States has 50, and Liberia has 11 stripes rather than 13.
The Liberian flag also became internationally familiar through its extensive use by ships registered under Liberia’s flag of convenience system. That maritime use does not change its design as the country’s national flag.