MARCH 4, 2025 — Apple’s latest iOS 18.4 beta includes the flag of Sark as a new emoji, marking a rare addition under Unicode’s current policies, reports Emojipedia.
This is the first national or regional flag emoji added through an automatic recommendation mechanism since 2015.
The Unicode Consortium, which oversees emoji standardization, announced in July 2024 that the Sark flag would be included in Unicode 16.0, according to the BBC.
The inclusion of the Sark flag emoji comes despite Unicode’s 2022 decision to stop accepting flag proposals of any kind.
However, unlike most recent flag proposals, the addition of the flag as an emoji was possible because Sark was assigned an “exceptionally reserved” ISO 3166 code (CQ), making it eligible for a recommended emoji without requiring a formal proposal.
The Sark flag, originally commissioned in 1938 by Dame of Sark Sybil Hathaway, received a Royal Grant of Arms in 2020.
The Chief Pleas Online Identity (Special) Committee welcomed its inclusion, stating, “This is an important step to confirming Sark’s identity online in today’s connected world.”
Paul Armorgie, Speaker of Chief Pleas, emphasized the impact of the emoji on the island’s global presence. “Having a good online profile in the global cybersphere is vital for a small community like Sark in areas such as tourism,” he said.
Sark, the smallest of the four main Channel Islands, is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and lies about 80 miles (128 km) from England’s south coast. Its first official census in over 50 years, conducted in 2023, recorded a population of 562.
The iOS 18.4 beta also includes an update to the Syria flag emoji, reflecting the country’s new de facto flag.
