The flag of Qatar (Arabic: عَلَمْ قَطَرْ) is in the ratio of 11:28. It is maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side. It was adopted shortly before the country declared independence from the United Kingdom on 3 September 1971. The triangular edges represent Qatar as the 9th "reconciled emirate". The flag is similar to the flag of Bahrain, which has fewer points, a 3:5 proportion, and a red colour instead of maroon. Qatar's flag is the only national flag having a width more than twice its height.
Qatar's historic flag was plain red, in correspondence with the red banner traditionally used by the Kharjite leader Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a. In the 19th century, the country modified its entirely red flag with the addition of a white vertical stripe at the hoist to suit the British directive. After this addition, Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani officially adopted a patterned purple-red and white flag which bore a strong resemblance to its modern derivative. Several additions were made to the Qatari flag in 1932, with the nine-pointed serrated edge, diamonds, and the word "Qatar" being integrated into its design. The maroon colour was standardised in 1936. In the 1960s, Sheikh Ali Al Thani removed the wording and diamonds from the flag. The flag was officially adopted on 9 July 1971 and was virtually identical to the 1960s flag, except the height-to-width proportion.
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