Countries With Stars on Their Flags
The star is the single most common charge in world vexillology, and roughly 59 sovereign states carry at least one on their national flag. What makes stars useful for learners is that the count is almost never decorative. On most flags the number of stars encodes something countable: states, islands, provinces, ethnic groups, or founding principles.
Most Stars on a National Flag
United States: 50
One per state. Brazil is second with 27, one per state plus the Federal District.
National Flags Ranked by Number of Stars
Tap any row to see the flags full size.
| Flag | Country | Stars | What They Represent |
|---|---|---|---|
 | United States | 50 | One star per state |
 | Brazil | 27 | One per state plus the Federal District, arranged as a night sky |
 | Uzbekistan | 12 | The twelve months and signs of the zodiac |
 | Cape Verde | 10 | The ten main islands |
 | Tuvalu | 9 | The nine islands, positioned as they sit geographically |
 | Venezuela | 8 | The eight provinces that signed the declaration of independence |
 | Grenada | 7 | The seven parishes |
 | Tajikistan | 7 | Seven stars in a golden crown |
 | Australia | 6 | The Southern Cross (5) plus the seven-pointed Commonwealth Star |
 | Equatorial Guinea | 6 | The mainland and five islands |
 | China | 5 | One large star with four smaller stars around it |
 | Singapore | 5 | Democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality |
 | Honduras | 5 | The five states of the former Federal Republic of Central America |
 | Papua New Guinea | 5 | The Southern Cross |
 | Samoa | 5 | The Southern Cross |
 | Solomon Islands | 5 | Originally the five administrative districts |
 | Turkmenistan | 5 | The five provinces, matched by five carpet guls |
 | Comoros | 4 | The four islands, echoed by the four stripes |
 | Micronesia | 4 | The four states |
 | New Zealand | 4 | The Southern Cross, in red with white outlines |
 | Burundi | 3 | The national motto: unity, work, progress |
 | Philippines | 3 | Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao |
 | Slovenia | 3 | From the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje |
 | Syria | 3 | Adopted December 2024, replacing the previous two-star design |
 | Panama | 2 | The two historic political parties |
 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 2 | The two islands |
 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2 | The two islands |
 | Israel | 1 | The only hexagram on a national flag, the Star of David |
United States
Stars50What They RepresentOne star per stateBrazil
Stars27What They Represent
One per state plus the Federal District, arranged as a night sky
Uzbekistan
Stars12What They Represent
The twelve months and signs of the zodiac
Cape Verde
Stars10What They RepresentThe ten main islandsTuvalu
Stars9What They Represent
The nine islands, positioned as they sit geographically
Venezuela
Stars8What They Represent
The eight provinces that signed the declaration of independence
Grenada
Stars7What They RepresentThe seven parishesTajikistan
Stars7What They RepresentSeven stars in a golden crownAustralia
Stars6What They Represent
The Southern Cross (5) plus the seven-pointed Commonwealth Star
Equatorial Guinea
Stars6What They RepresentThe mainland and five islandsChina
Stars5What They Represent
One large star with four smaller stars around it
Singapore
Stars5What They Represent
Democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality
Honduras
Stars5What They Represent
The five states of the former Federal Republic of Central America
Papua New Guinea
Stars5What They RepresentThe Southern CrossSamoa
Stars5What They RepresentThe Southern CrossSolomon Islands
Stars5What They Represent
Originally the five administrative districts
Turkmenistan
Stars5What They Represent
The five provinces, matched by five carpet guls
Comoros
Stars4What They Represent
The four islands, echoed by the four stripes
Micronesia
Stars4What They RepresentThe four statesNew Zealand
Stars4What They Represent
The Southern Cross, in red with white outlines
Burundi
Stars3What They Represent
The national motto: unity, work, progress
Philippines
Stars3What They RepresentLuzon, the Visayas and MindanaoSlovenia
Stars3What They Represent
From the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje
Syria
Stars3What They Represent
Adopted December 2024, replacing the previous two-star design
Panama
Stars2What They Represent
The two historic political parties
São Tomé and Príncipe
Stars2What They RepresentThe two islandsSaint Kitts and Nevis
Stars2What They RepresentThe two islandsIsrael
Stars1What They Represent
The only hexagram on a national flag, the Star of David
Below the multi-star flags sits a large group of single-star designs. These are worth learning as a block, because the star is usually the only distinguishing feature on an otherwise simple field of colour.
Notable Single-Star Flags
Tap any row to see the flags full size.
| Flag | Country | Star Detail |
|---|---|---|
 | Vietnam | Large yellow five-pointed star on red |
 | Somalia | White five-pointed star on light blue |
 | Turkey | White star and crescent on red |
 | Pakistan | White star and crescent on green, with a white hoist band |
 | Morocco | Green interlaced pentagram, the Seal of Solomon |
 | Jordan | Seven-pointed star for the seven verses of Al-Fatiha |
 | Nauru | Twelve-pointed star for the twelve original tribes |
 | Chile | White star in a blue canton |
 | Cuba | White star in a red triangle |
 | Liberia | Single white star in a blue canton, one star not fifty |
 | Ghana | Black star of African freedom on the red-yellow-green tricolour |
 | Senegal | Green star centred on the yellow band |
 | Myanmar | Large white star centred across all three bands |
 | North Korea | Red star in a white disc |
Vietnam
Star Detail
Large yellow five-pointed star on red
Somalia
Star Detail
White five-pointed star on light blue
Turkey
Star DetailWhite star and crescent on redPakistan
Star Detail
White star and crescent on green, with a white hoist band
Morocco
Star Detail
Green interlaced pentagram, the Seal of Solomon
Jordan
Star Detail
Seven-pointed star for the seven verses of Al-Fatiha
Nauru
Star Detail
Twelve-pointed star for the twelve original tribes
Chile
Star DetailWhite star in a blue cantonCuba
Star DetailWhite star in a red triangleLiberia
Star Detail
Single white star in a blue canton, one star not fifty
Ghana
Star Detail
Black star of African freedom on the red-yellow-green tricolour
Senegal
Star Detail
Green star centred on the yellow band
Myanmar
Star Detail
Large white star centred across all three bands
North Korea
Star DetailRed star in a white disc
A few flags are commonly miscounted. Nepal has no stars at all. The white shapes are a twelve-pointed sun and a crescent moon. Namibia carries a twelve-rayed golden sun rather than a star. And Syria is the flag most likely to be out of date in older quiz material: the current design has three red stars, adopted in December 2024.
Sources and Counting Notes
Counts here cover sovereign states. Self-governing territories and dependencies with starred flags, including the Cook Islands (15), Niue, Hong Kong, Macau, Puerto Rico and Curaçao, are excluded from the sovereign-state ranking, which is why published totals vary between roughly 59 and 70 depending on what each source counts.
Think you could draw them from memory?
Reading about a flag and reproducing it are very different skills. Paint the Flag makes you place every stripe and star yourself.
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Written by
Ziga Straus
I build and run Geography Games on my own, from the games and the artwork to these articles. Everything here is checked against published references, and each article lists its sources at the bottom so you can verify any figure yourself rather than taking my word for it.
