Turkmenistan

The national flag of Turkmenistan features a white crescent and five stars representing the five regions of the country and the Five Pillars of Islam. Placed upon a green field is a symbolic representation of the country's famous carpet industry. It was introduced as the flag of Turkmenistan on 27 September 1992 to replace the Soviet-era flag. The modified version with a 2:3 ratio was adopted on 24 January 2001. State Flag and Constitution Day is celebrated on 18 May.

The flag features a green field with a vertical red stripe on the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to those on the flag of the United Nations. A white crescent moon and five white five-pointed stars appear as a charge on the fly side of the red stripe. While no official explanation has been given for the symbolism of the flag's colors or white symbols, there are several leading theories. Some such as the Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry claim that the green field stands for life, land, grass, prosperity, and peace, while the crescent moon symbolizes the clear sky above Turkmenistan's people. They claim the stars represent the five provinces (welaýatlar) of Turkmenistan: Ahal, Balkan, Daşoguz, Lebap and Mary. Soon after the flag was adopted, multiple newspapers gave their own explanations of the flag's symbolism, claiming that the color green was chosen to resemble banners historically used by the Turkmen people, and the color white was chosen to represent the brightness of life. They also reported that the five points on the stars represented the five states of matter, solid,…