The Liberian flag was opened on 26 July 1847. The flag is rectangular in shape, and the ratio of length to width is 19:10. It consists of 11 parallel strips of red and white. The upper left corner is a blue square with a white Pentagon inside. Eleven red and white stripes are the 11 signatories of the Declaration of Liberia's Independence. Red symbolizes courage, white symbolizes virtue, blue symbolizes the African continent, square expresses Liberian people's desire for freedom, peace, democracy and fraternity; Pentagon symbolizes the only black republic in Africa at that time.