The flag of the Republic of Kosovo[a] was adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo immediately following the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo from Serbia on 17 February 2008. The flag is the result of an
international design competition, organised by the United Nations-backed Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries. The now-used design was proposed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars
in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo on a blue field. The stars symbolise Kosovo's six major ethnic groups.
Before the declaration of independence, Kosovo was under the administration of the United Nations and used the UN flag for official purposes. The Serbian and Albanian populations had used their own national flags
since the Socialist Yugoslavia period. The Serbs use a red, blue and white tricolor, which forms the basis of the current flag of Serbia. The Albanian population have used the flag of Albania since the 1960s as
their ethnic flag. Both flags can still be seen and used within Kosovo.
Serbia has not recognized the independence of Kosovo and claims the area as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. Unlike the autonomous province of Vojvodina, no flag has been adopted by the Serbian
authorities to represent this claimed province and the Flag of Serbia is used instead.
Data
Use: National Flag
Proportion: 5:7
Adopted: 17 February 2008
Design: A blue field charged with a map of Kosovo in gold, surmounted by an arc of six, white five-pointed stars, in the center
Designer: Muhamer Ibrahimi
