View source for Flag of Kazakhstan

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox flag
|Name = Kazakhstan
|Article = 
|Nickname = ''Қазақстан Республикасының Мемлекеттiк Туы''
|Image = Flag of Kazakhstan.svg
|Use = 111100
|Symbol = 
|Proportion = 1:2
|Adoption = 4 June 1992
|Design = A gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue field. The hoist side displays a national ornamental pattern "koshkar-muiz" (the horns of the ram) in gold
|Designer = [[Shaken Niyazbekov]]
|Image2 = Government Ensign of Kazakhstan.svg
|Name2 = 
|Use2 = 000010
|Proportion2 = 1:2
|Design2 = 
|Image3 = Naval Ensign of Kazakhstan.svg
|Name3 = 
|Use3 = 000001
|Proportion3 = 1:2
|Design3 = 
|Type = National
}}

The current '''flag of Kazakhstan''' or '''Kazakh flag''' ({{lang-kz|Қазақстан туы ''Qazaqstan twı''}}) was adopted on 4 June 1992, replacing the [[flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]]. The flag was designed by [[Shaken Niyazbekov]]. The color choices had preserved the Soviet era flag minus the red.

==Description==
The national flag of the [[Republic of Kazakhstan]] has a gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden [[Steppe Eagle|steppe eagle]], both centered on a sky blue background; the hoist side displays a national ornamental pattern "koshkar-muiz" (the horns of the ram) in gold; the blue color is of religious significance to the [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] peoples of the country, and so symbolizes cultural and ethnic unity; it also represents the [[Tengri|endless sky]] as well as water; the sun, a source of life and energy, exemplifies wealth and plenitude; the sun's rays are shaped like grain, which is the basis of abundance and prosperity; the eagle has appeared on the flags of [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] tribes for centuries and represents freedom, power, and the flight to the future. The width of the flag to its length is 1:2.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/flagtemplate_kz.html CIA – The World Fact Book]</ref>


==Interpretation==
The gold and blue colors were inherited from the former Soviet flag which were the gold from the [[hammer and sickle]] and the cyan bar from the bottom of the flag. The pattern represents the art and cultural traditions of the old [[khanate]] and the [[Kazakhs|Kazakh people]]. The sky blue background symbolizes the peace, freedom, cultural, and ethnic unity of Kazakh people including the various [[Turkic peoples]] that make up the present-day population such as the [[Kazakhs]], [[Tatars]], [[Uyghurs]], [[Uzbeks]], as well as the significant Mongol and Russian peoples. The sun represents a source of life and energy. It is also a symbol of wealth and abundance; the sun's rays are a symbol of the steppe's [[grain]] which is the basis of abundance and prosperity.

People of different [[Jüz|Kazakh tribes]] had the golden eagle on their flags for centuries. The eagle symbolizes the power of the state. For the modern nation of Kazakhstan the eagle is a symbol of independence, freedom and flight to future.<ref>[http://aboutkazakhstan.com/kazakhstan-national-flag.shtml Kazakhstan national flag]</ref>

== Historical flags ==
<gallery>
File:Kazakh Khanate.svg| Alleged flag of the [[Kazakh Khanate]]
File:Flag of the Alash Autonomy.svg|Flag of the [[Alash Autonomy]]
File:Qazaq ssr 37-40.svg|[[Flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]] from 1937—1940
File:Qazaq SSR 40-53.svg|Flag of the [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]] from 1940—1953
File:Flag of the Kazakh SSR.svg|Flag of the [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]] from 1953—1991 and the independent Kazakhstan from 1991—1992
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Emblem of Kazakhstan]]
*[[Flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]]
*[[List of Kazakh flags]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Flags of Kazakhstan}}
* {{FOTW|id=kz|title=Kazakhstan}}
* [http://www.vexillographia.ru/kazakhst/index.htm Kazakhstan - Vexillographia]
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/kazak_1920.gif Flag of the Kazakh ASSR]

{{Flag of Europe}}
{{Asia topic|Flag of|title=[[Flags of Asia]]}}{{nationalflags}}<!-- to edit this table, go to [[Template:Nationalflags]] -->
{{Kazakhstan topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Kazakhstan}}
[[Category:National symbols of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:National flags|Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Flags of Kazakhstan| ]]
[[Category:Flags of the Arctic|Kazakhstan]]