KOSOVO FLAG

The flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo immediately following the declaration of independence of the Republic of Kosovo from Serbia^[2] on 17 February 2008.^[2][3] The flag is the result of an international design competition, organized by the United Nations-backed Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries.^[4] The now-used design is a variant of one proposal designed by Muhamer Ibrahimi.^[5] It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo on a blue field.^[6] They symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups.^[7]

Before the declaration of independence, Kosovo was under the administration of the United Nations and used the UN flag for official purposes. Both the Serbian and Albanian ethnic populations used their own 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 nationality flag. Both flags can still be seen and used inside independent Kosovo.