flag: U.S. Outlying Islands

What does flag: U.S. Outlying Islands mean?

The ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ emoji technically depicts the flag for the United States Minor Outlying Islands, a statistical designation for nine small, mostly uninhabited island territories controlled by the U.S., such as Midway Atoll and Wake Island. Because these territories fly the official American flag, this emoji looks absolutely identical to the standard United States flag (๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ) on almost all major devices. It features the same iconic 50 white stars on a blue canton alongside 13 red and white stripes. In digital communication, this emoji is almost always used interchangeably with the standard American flag, usually by accident. Because the visual representation is exactly the same, users typing "US" or scrolling through their emoji keyboard might inadvertently select the ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ version. It appears in contexts celebrating the Fourth of July, cheering on American sports teams, discussing U.S. politics, or expressing patriotic sentiments, functioning essentially the same as the primary US flag emoji.

Slang & Modern Usage

Because the ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ emoji looks exactly like the standard ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ flag, it doesn't have a distinct slang meaning of its own. Instead, it inherits all the internet slang and cultural baggage of the American flag. This includes highly exaggerated, ironic usage in "Murica" memes (often paired with eagles or guns) or satirical comments on American stereotypes. You'll frequently see it on Twitter and TikTok accompanying phrases like "WTF is a kilometer?!" to poke fun at the American imperial measurement system. Occasionally, emoji nerds or developers might use the ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ emoji as a trivia point or a joke about technical quirks in Unicode. Because the underlying code uses the regional indicator letters "UM" instead of "US", tech-savvy users might playfully point out when a politician, brand, or influencer accidentally puts the Outlying Islands flag in their social media bio instead of the standard United States flag.

Emoji Combos

Platform Differences

Visually, this emoji is absolutely identical to the standard United States flag (๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ) across all major platforms like Apple, Google, and Samsung; the only difference is the underlying Unicode data.

Technical Information

Unicode U+1F1FA U+1F1F2
HTML Entity 🇺🇲
CSS \1F1FA\1F1F2
JavaScript \u{1F1FA}\u{1F1F2}
Unicode Version Unicode 2
Status Fully-qualified

Shortcodes

github

:us_outlying_islands:

discord

:flag_um: :um:

slack

:flag-um:

Related Emojis

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡จ flag: Ascension Island ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฉ flag: Andorra ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช flag: United Arab Emirates ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ flag: Afghanistan ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฌ flag: Antigua & Barbuda ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฎ flag: Anguilla ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ flag: Albania ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ flag: Armenia

Tags

USA America Murica Flag Patriotism Travel Vacation Geography Irony

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ U.S. Outlying Islands flag look like the regular US flag?
The U.S. Outlying Islands are territories of the United States, meaning they fly the official American flag. Emoji platforms use the exact same design for both the ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ (UM) and standard ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ (US) country codes.
Is there a difference between ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ and ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ?
Visually, there is no difference on almost all devices. Technically, they use different Unicode data: ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ is made of the regional indicator letters U and M, while ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ uses U and S.
What are the U.S. Outlying Islands?
They are a group of nine small, mostly uninhabited island territories controlled by the United States. This includes places like Midway Atoll, Wake Island, and Baker Island.
How do I know which US flag emoji I am using?
Unless your device displays the raw regional indicator letters or you inspect the emoji's underlying code, it's virtually impossible to tell them apart by sight alone.