emoji flag sequence

Version 17.0 Editors Mark Davis (Google LLC), Ned Holbrook (Apple Inc.) Date 2025-09-04 This Version Previous Version Latest Version Latest Proposed Update Revision 29 This document defines the structure of Unicode emoji characters and sequences, and provides data to support that structure, such as which characters are considered to be emoji, which emoji should be displayed by default with a text style versus an emoji style, and which can be displayed with a variety of skin tones. It also provides design guidelines for improving the interoperability of emoji characters across platforms and implementations. Starting with Version 11.0 of this specification, the repertoire of emoji characters is synchronized with the Unicode Standard, and has the same version numbering system. For details, see Section 1.5.2, Versioning . This document has been reviewed by Unicode members and other interested parties, and has been approved for publication by the Unicode Consortium. This is a stable document and may be used as reference material or cited as a normative reference by other specifications. A Unicode Technical Standard (UTS) is an independent specification. Conformance to the Unicode Standard does not imply conformance to any UTS. Please submit corrigenda and other comments with the online reporting form [Feedback ]. Related information that is useful in understanding this document is found in the References . For the latest version of the Unicode Standard, see [Unicode ]. For a list of current Unicode Technical Reports, see [Reports ]. For more information about versions of the Unicode Standard, see [Versions ]. 2.6.2 Multi-Person Skin Tones Table: Examples of Skin Tones for Multi-Person Groupings Using RGI Sequences Annex C: Valid Emoji Tag Sequences C.1 Flag Emoji Tag Sequences C.1.1 Sample Valid Emoji Tag Sequences Table: Display of Valid Emoji Tag Sequences C.1.2 Sample Invalid Emoji Tag Sequences Table: Display of Invalid Emoji Tag Sequences C.1.3 Sample Ill-formed Emoji Tag Sequences Table: Display of Ill-formed Emoji Tag Sequences Emoji are pictographs (pictorial symbols) that are typically presented in a colorful cartoon form and used inline in text. They represent things such as faces, weather, vehicles and buildings, food and drink, animals and plants, or icons that represent emotions, feelings, or activities. Emoji on smartphones and in chat and email applications have become extremely popular worldwide. As of March 2015, for example, Instagram reported that “nearly half of text [on Instagram] contained emoji.” Individual emoji also vary greatly in popularity (and even by country), as described in the SwiftKey Emoji Report. See emoji press page for details about these reports and others. Emoji are most often used in quick, short social media messages, where they connect with the reader and add flavor, color, and emotion. Emoji do not have the grammar or vocabulary to substitute for written language. In social media, emoji make up for the lack of gestures, facial expressions, and intonation that are found in speech. They also add useful ambiguity to messages, allowing the writer to convey many different possible concepts at the same time. Many people are also attracted by the challenge of composing messages in emoji, and puzzling out emoji messages. Emoji may be represented internally as graphics or they may be represented by normal glyphs encoded in fonts like other characters. These latter are called emoji characters for clarity. Some Unicode characters are normally displayed as emoji; some are normally displayed as ordinary text, and some can be displayed both ways. There’s been considerable media attention to emoji since they appeared in the Unicode Standard, with increased attention starting in late 2013. For example, there were some 6,000 articles on the emoji appearing in Unicode 7.0, according to Google News. See the emoji press page for many samples of such articles, and also the Keynote from the 38th