99 Fun Facts About World Flags

Which country's flag features a red circle on a white background?

Japan's flag, known as the Nisshōki or Hinomaru ("circle of the sun"), features a simple red disc centered on a white rectangular field. It has been the national flag since 1870.

What tree's foliage appears on the flag of Canada?

Canada's flag shows a stylized red maple leaf on a white square between two red bands. The maple-leaf flag was proclaimed in 1965, replacing the Canadian Red Ensign.

Which country's flag consists of three vertical stripes: blue, white, and red?

The Tricolore runs blue, white, red from the hoist. The design was adopted during the French Revolution and has been the national flag since, with only minor changes in shade and proportion.

What are the colors of the Italian flag?

Il Tricolore has three equal vertical bands of green, white and red with green at the hoist. Like other tricolours it was inspired by the French flag, and it is defined in Article 12 of the Italian Constitution.

Which flag combines the Union Jack, a seven-pointed Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross?

Australia's flag places the Union Jack and the seven-pointed Commonwealth Star in the hoist half and the Southern Cross in the fly; four of the five Cross stars have seven points, the smallest five.

The Stars and Stripes is the nickname for the flag of which country?

The Stars and Stripes refers to the flag of the United States. It features 50 white stars on a blue canton representing the 50 states, and 13 alternating red and white stripes representing the original 13 colonies.

What color is the cross on the flag of Switzerland?

Switzerland's flag is a white Greek cross on a red, square field; an 1889 federal decree fixed the cross's arms at one-sixth longer than they are wide.

Which Scandinavian country's flag features a yellow cross on a blue background?

Sweden's flag features a golden-yellow Nordic cross on a blue background. The colors are believed to come from the Swedish coat of arms, dating back to 1442.

What colour are the stars on the flag of China?

China's five stars are golden yellow on a red field: one large star for the Communist Party and four smaller stars, in the upper hoist, for the unity of the Chinese people.

Which country's flag, two stacked pennants bearing a moon and a sun, is the only national flag that is not rectangular?

Nepal's flag is two stacked triangles, or pennants, with a crescent moon and a sun; the shape has been used since the 19th century.

The island map on the flag of Cyprus is coloured to represent which metal?

The copper-orange map sits above two olive branches on white, a deliberately neutral design meant to signal harmony between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

On the flag of Mexico, the eagle is perched on what kind of plant?

The eagle sits on a nopal cactus devouring a serpent, recalling the Aztec legend that marked where Tenochtitlan should be founded.

How many stripes are on the flag of the United States?

The US flag has 13 alternating red and white stripes, representing the original 13 colonies that declared independence from Britain in 1776. The number of stripes has remained constant since 1818.

Which country's flag features a dragon?

Y Ddraig Goch, the red dragon, walks across a green-and-white field. Wales is part of the UK, so the dragon does not appear on the Union Jack.

Besides Gaddafi-era Libya, which country used a plain single-colour national flag, all white, in 1996-97?

Afghanistan under the Taliban flew a plain white banner from 1996 until the Shahada was added in 1997. Libya's all-green flag of 1977–2011 was the only other single-colour national flag.

The five interlocking rings on the Olympic flag represent what?

The five rings stand for the inhabited continents — Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania — with the Americas counted as one. Pierre de Coubertin designed the flag in 1913 and presented it in 1914.

What celestial body appears on the flag of Turkey?

The white crescent and star on red descend from the Ottoman flag, where the design was introduced in 1844.

Which country's flag has a blue Star of David between two blue horizontal stripes?

Israel's flag features a blue Star of David (Magen David) centered between two horizontal blue stripes on a white background. The design was inspired by the Jewish prayer shawl (tallit) and was adopted as the national flag in 1948.

What motto is written across the flag of Brazil?

'Ordem e Progresso' ('Order and Progress') comes from Auguste Comte's positivist motto. It runs on a curved white band across the blue celestial globe, which shows the Southern Cross among its stars.

Which two countries have square-shaped national flags?

Switzerland and Vatican City are the only two sovereign states with square flags. Most national flags have a 2:3 or 3:5 aspect ratio, but these two nations maintain their traditional square proportions.

The emblem on the United Nations flag shows a world map surrounded by branches of which tree?

Two olive branches, a symbol of peace, frame the white map on the UN flag — an azimuthal equidistant projection centred on the North Pole, set on a sky-blue field.

Which country's flag features an AK-47 assault rifle?

Mozambique's flag shows a Kalashnikov AK-47 crossed with a hoe over an open book on a red triangle, recalling the independence struggle; it is the only national flag bearing a modern assault rifle.

Which country's flag shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of the country on a blue field?

Adopted on the day of the 2008 declaration of independence, the six stars stand for Kosovo's six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani and Gorani.

What is the study of flags called?

Vexillology is the scientific study of flags, from the Latin word vexillum meaning a type of Roman military standard. The term was coined by Whitney Smith in 1957. Heraldry, while related, deals specifically with coats of arms.

Which Nordic country's flag holds the Guinness record as the oldest continuously used national flag?

Denmark's Dannebrog holds the Guinness record for oldest continuously used national flag, with continuous use dated to 1625; legend places its origin at the Battle of Lindanise in 1219.

The Pan-African colors of red, yellow/gold, and green were inspired by the flag of which country?

Ethiopia's green, yellow, and red tricolor inspired the Pan-African color scheme used by many African nations. Ethiopia was one of only two African countries (along with Liberia) that were never colonized, making it a symbol of African independence.

What do the two red bands added to Mauritania's green flag in 2017 represent?

The red bands represent blood shed for independence from France, added after an August 2017 constitutional referendum passed with about 86% in favour. The gold crescent and star on green were kept.

Which two-headed bird spreads across Albania's red flag?

The black double-headed eagle is the traditional symbol of Albanians; its use goes back to the medieval hero Skanderbeg, who adopted the Eastern Roman imperial banner.

Which South American country's flag has a gold Sun of May with a human face on its centre stripe, added in 1818?

Argentina's Sol de Mayo, a gold sun with a human face and 32 rays, was added to the centre stripe in 1818, copying the engraving on the first Argentine coin of 1813.

Which country's flag features a trident-head called a 'broken trident'?

Barbados's flag bears a black broken trident on a gold band between two ultramarine bands; the colonial badge showed Britannia with a full trident, and the missing shaft marks the break from Britain.

In 2016, New Zealand voted to keep its flag over an alternative design featuring which plant?

Kyle Lockwood's silver fern design lost 43.3% to 56.7%. The existing flag, with the Union Jack and Southern Cross, stayed.

Which colour is officially a different shade on the near-identical flags of Chad and Romania?

Chad specifies indigo while Romania long specified cobalt blue. Chad asked the United Nations to examine the similarity in 2004.

Which country's flag features a white depiction of the temple complex Angkor Wat?

Cambodia's flag shows a white Angkor Wat on a red band between two blue bands, one of the few national flags to depict a building, alongside those of Spain, Portugal and San Marino.

What does the green color in the Irish tricolor flag represent?

Green stands for Roman Catholics and orange for Protestants, with white for the hoped-for union between them.

Which Central American country's coat of arms, shown on its flag, includes a rainbow?

Nicaragua's coat of arms shows a rainbow arching over five volcanoes, for the five original members of the Federal Republic of Central America, with a red Phrygian cap on a staff for liberty.

In flag terminology, what is a 'canton'?

A canton is a rectangular emblem in the upper hoist, usually taking up to a quarter of the flag. The best-known example is the starry blue 'union' on the US flag.

What are the four jewels clutched by the dragon on Bhutan's flag called?

The Thunder Dragon (Druk) on Bhutan's flag grips norbu, jewels, in its four claws, standing for the nation's wealth; Bhutan is Druk Yul, Land of the Thunder Dragon, and the flag splits diagonally yellow and orange.

Luxembourg's flag is almost identical to which country's, differing mainly in a lighter blue?

Luxembourg's red-white-blue tricolour matches the Netherlands' flag except for a lighter sky blue and a longer 3:5 proportion; the Grand Duchy formally adopted it in 1972.

What is unique about the flag of Paraguay?

The obverse carries the national seal and the reverse the seal of the treasury, a lion below a red Phrygian cap with the words Paz y Justicia.

The flag of Kiribati features a frigate bird flying over what?

The gold frigatebird flies over a gold rising sun on a red upper half; the blue lower half has three wavy white stripes for the ocean and the three island groups. The sun's 17 rays stand for the 16 Gilbert Islands and Banaba.

Which country's flag bears a soapstone bird on a white hoist triangle over a red star?

Zimbabwe's flag shows the Zimbabwe Bird, a soapstone carving from the Great Zimbabwe ruins, on a white hoist triangle over a red star; it was adopted at independence on 18 April 1980.

The Jolly Roger typically features a skull and crossbones on what colour background?

The classic Jolly Roger features a white skull and crossbones on a black background, used by various pirates in the early 18th century. A red 'No Quarter' flag was actually more feared, as it meant no mercy would be shown.

Per the Council of Europe, what do the twelve stars on the flag of Europe stand for?

The Council of Europe says the twelve stars stand for perfection and entirety, not member states, so the flag never changed as the EU grew. The Council adopted it in 1955; the European Communities followed in 1985.

Which country's flag features a cedar tree?

Lebanon's cedar (Cedrus libani) has been its symbol for millennia, referenced in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible.

In flag protocol, what does flying a flag at 'half-staff' or 'half-mast' signify?

Flying a flag at half-staff (on land) or half-mast (at sea) is a sign of mourning, respect for the dead, or national distress. The tradition dates back to the 17th century and is observed worldwide. The flag is first raised to the top, then lowered to the halfway point.

The flag of Seychelles is unique for having how many colored bands radiating from one corner?

Seychelles' five oblique bands — blue, yellow, red, white and green — fan out from the lower hoist corner. The design was adopted in 1996, replacing the earlier red, white and green wavy-band flag.

Which country's 1994 flag was then the only national flag using six colours in its primary design?

South Africa's flag, adopted in 1994 with the end of apartheid, features six colors: black, gold, green, white, red, and blue. The Y-shaped (pall) design symbolizes the convergence of diverse elements in South African society moving forward in unity.

Which country's flag sets a white crescent and star on green beside a white hoist stripe?

Pakistan's flag sets a white crescent and five-pointed star on dark green, with a white stripe at the hoist for religious minorities; it was adopted on 11 August 1947, days before independence.

Which Pacific nation's flag has a thin gold stripe for the Equator and a single star for its position just south of it?

Nauru's flag runs a thin gold stripe for the Equator across a blue field, with a twelve-pointed white star just below it for the island's position one degree south and its twelve original tribes.

On Sri Lanka's flag, what does the golden lion hold in its right forepaw?

The weapon is a kastane, a traditional Sinhalese short sword. The four leaves in the corners are from the bo (bodhi) tree.

The shield on Kenya's flag is the traditional shield of which people?

The shield is a Maasai shield in red, white and black, with two crossed spears behind it; the design was adapted from the flag of the Kenya African National Union at independence in 1963.

Dominica's flag is one of very few national flags to use which colour?

The purple is the sisserou parrot at the centre of Dominica's flag, a bird found only on the island with a wild population of a few hundred; the flag dates from independence in 1978.

Which bird on Guatemala's flag symbolises liberty?

The resplendent quetzal, Guatemala's national bird, stands for liberty on the coat of arms, beside crossed Remington rifles and a scroll dated 15 September 1821, Central America's independence day from Spain.

What navigational instrument sits behind the shield on Portugal's flag?

An armillary sphere, a navigational instrument of the Age of Discovery, sits behind the shield on Portugal's flag; the green-red split is lopsided, green covering two-fifths of the length and red three-fifths.

Since 2017, which is the only sovereign nation's flag with no red, white, or blue?

Jamaica's black, green and gold flag became the only national flag without red, white or blue when Mauritania added red bands to its green flag in 2017.

Which spice appears on the flag of Grenada?

The nutmeg on Grenada's flag was the one element kept from the island's 1967 flag, a nod to the main export that earned Grenada the name 'Isle of Spice'.

What colour is the five-pointed star on Morocco's red flag?

Morocco's green five-pointed star, drawn as an open pentagram rather than a filled shape, was added to the red field by Sultan Yusef's decree of 1915.

The bird at the centre of Egypt's flag is known as the Eagle of whom?

The gold Eagle of Saladin on the white band became Egypt's emblem in 1984; the red-white-black bands come from the 1952 revolution's Arab Liberation Flag and are shared with Yemen and Iraq.

The four black symbols in the corners of South Korea's flag are what?

The four black trigrams (kwae), for heaven, earth, water and fire, surround the red-and-blue taegeuk; the flag's name, Taegeukgi, comes from that central yin-yang circle.

Which US state's flag is often confused with Chile's 'Lone Star' flag?

Chile's version came first, in 1817, and its flag emoji is so often used for the state that a 2017 Texas resolution urged people to stop.

Which saint's saltire was added to the Union Jack in 1801?

Saint Patrick's red saltire for Ireland was laid over Saint Andrew's white saltire when Great Britain and Ireland united in 1801, producing the 1801 Union Jack design.

Which is the only US state with a non-rectangular flag?

Ohio's swallowtail 'burgee' is the only non-rectangular US state flag; it carries 17 stars for the 17th state and a red disc inside a white circle that suggests the letter O.

Which US state flag carries the Union Jack in its canton?

Hawaii's flag, with the Union Jack in its canton over eight stripes, dates to 1845 and reflects King Kamehameha I's ties with the Royal Navy, though the kingdom was never part of the British Empire.

The Red Cross emblem is officially described as a colour reversal of which flag?

The Geneva Conventions describe the red cross on white as Switzerland's flag with the colours reversed, a tribute to the country where the movement was founded in 1863.

Which country's flag is the only national flag with humans as a major design element, two woodcutters flanking a tree?

Belize's two woodcutters flank a mahogany tree on the coat of arms, recalling the logging trade that first brought British settlers.

Which country's flag is never flown at half-mast because it bears the shahada?

Saudi Arabia's flag carries the shahada, so lowering it would be seen as blasphemous; Iraq's flag, which bears the takbir, follows the same rule.

Which bird stands in the white disc at the centre of Uganda's flag?

The crested crane appeared on the colonial badge from 1914, and the flag was adopted on independence day, 9 October 1962.

Angola's flag emblem crosses a half-cogwheel with which tool?

Angola's emblem crosses a machete with a half-cogwheel beneath a star; vexillologist Whitney Smith likened the design to the Soviet hammer and sickle. It was adopted at independence on 11 November 1975.

Which country's flag has five carpet designs, called guls, on a red vertical stripe?

Turkmenistan's red vertical stripe carries five carpet guls, one for each major tribe, honouring the national carpet industry; a crescent with five stars sits on the green field beside it.

The sun on Kyrgyzstan's flag contains a tündük, the roof opening of what?

The tündük is the crown of a yurt's roof seen from inside; the sun around it has 40 rays for the 40 clans united by the folk hero Manas, whose red pennant inspired the field.

Which national flag is the only one to carry English-language text?

Malta's flag carries the George Cross, inscribed 'For Gallantry', which George VI awarded the island in 1942 for its wartime endurance; no other national flag bears English words.

Why is the red disc on Bangladesh's flag set slightly toward the hoist?

Palau uses the same trick with its golden moon, and both are easy to mistake for Japan's centred disc.

Flying which country's flag with the red band on top signals a state of war?

The Philippines flies its flag with the red band on top in wartime; the sun's eight rays stand for the eight provinces that first rose against Spain in 1896, the three stars for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Liechtenstein added a crown to its flag in 1937 after discovering it matched which country's?

Liechtenstein discovered at the 1936 Berlin Olympics that it shared Haiti's blue-over-red bicolour, so it added a gold crown to the hoist in 1937.

Which country pressured North Macedonia to drop the Vergina Sun from its flag in 1995?

Greece imposed an economic embargo from February 1994 until the Vergina Sun was dropped; Miroslav Grčev's eight-rayed replacement sun was adopted in October 1995.

Georgia's national banner, reinstated in 2004, is known by what nickname?

The Five-Cross Flag revives a banner of the medieval Kingdom of Georgia that appears on a 14th-century Pizzigano map.

The national symbol on the hoist side of Mongolia's flag is called what?

The Soyombo, gold on the red hoist stripe of Mongolia's flag, stacks symbols for fire, sun, moon, earth and water, plus two fish that never close their eyes, standing for vigilance.

Which country's flag is the only national flag wider than twice its height?

Qatar's maroon-and-white banner has an 11:28 ratio, the only national flag wider than twice its height; its nine-point serrated edge marks Qatar as the 'ninth reconciled emirate' of the 1916 Gulf treaty.

Which country lodged a complaint over Indonesia's near-identical red-and-white flag?

Monaco protested when Indonesia adopted its flag in 1945 but was ignored; the two differ only in shade of red and proportions, while Poland flies the colours the other way up.

The sun on Kazakhstan's flag has how many rays?

Kazakhstan's gold sun has 32 rays, each shaped like a grain of wheat for abundance, above a soaring steppe eagle on the sky-blue field; the flag was adopted on 4 June 1992.

Which Pacific nation's flag has the star with the most points of any national flag, 24, one per electoral district?

The Marshall Islands' 24 points match its 24 electoral districts, and the four longer ones mark the centres of Majuro, Jaluit, Wotje and Ebeye.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's 1998 flag was proclaimed by which official?

High Representative Carlos Westendorp imposed Mladen Kolobarić's design in February 1998 after Bosnia's parliament failed to agree on a flag; it flew at the Nagano Winter Olympics that month.

How many times in total is the takbir written along the bands of Iran's flag?

Eleven repetitions on each band recall 22 Bahman, the date in the Iranian calendar of the 1979 revolution's victory.

Who designed Ghana's red, gold and green flag with its black star in 1957?

Theodosia Okoh, a teacher and artist, designed Ghana's flag for independence in 1957; its black star, the 'lodestar of African freedom', later influenced the flags of Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Austria's red-white-red triband is first documented in a seal from which year?

Duke Frederick II 'the Quarrelsome' sealed a deed for Lilienfeld Abbey with the red-white-red arms in 1230, the earliest documented use of one of Europe's oldest national symbols.

In which year did Myanmar adopt its yellow, green and red flag with a white star?

Myanmar adopted the yellow, green and red triband with a large white star on 21 October 2010, replacing the socialist-era red flag; the colours echo the 1943–45 State of Burma flag.

Which country's flag shows a pair of upraised human hands supporting its crest?

Brunei's crest, in red on the yellow royal field, rests on a pair of upraised hands; the diagonal white and black stripes stand for two historic wazirs, the sultan's chief ministers.

Andorra and which other country are the only two with cattle on their national flags?

Andorra's cows come from the arms of Béarn; Moldova's visually similar tricolour shows an aurochs head.

Which Pacific kingdom's constitution declares its flag can never be altered?

Tonga's 1875 constitution locked in the red field and white canton with a red cross, chosen by King George Tupou I to proclaim the kingdom's Christianity, and declares the flag can never be altered.

Which country's 2009 constitution made the Wiphala a national symbol beside its tricolour?

Bolivia's 2009 constitution lists the Wiphala, a square patchwork of 49 coloured squares for the Andean native peoples, as a national symbol alongside the red-yellow-green tricolour.

In which year did Ukraine's parliament officially adopt the blue-and-yellow state flag?

The Verkhovna Rada adopted the blue-over-yellow bicolour as Ukraine's state flag on 28 January 1992, months after the August 1991 declaration of independence.

Which future deputy prime minister led the committee that designed Singapore's flag?

The 1959 design survived Singapore's 1965 split from Malaysia unchanged, crescent and five stars included.

The eighth star on Venezuela's flag, restored in 2006, represents which province?

Simón Bolívar decreed the eighth star for the province of Guayana in 1817, after its liberation, in a decree signed at Angostura; Hugo Chávez's government restored the star in 2006.

By tradition, Finland's blue-cross flag is based on a design by which poet?

Tradition credits the poet Zachris Topelius, who proposed a blue cross on white in 1862; one rejected 1918 entry used diagonal blue and white stripes and was mocked as fit for a barber shop.

Legend traces Scotland's saltire to a battle in 832 fought at which place?

At Athelstaneford in East Lothian, legend says a white saltire appeared in the sky before the Picts' victory in 832, and the village bills itself as the flag's birthplace.

The red of Latvia's flag is officially which shade?

Latvia's red is officially 'Latvian carmine', a dark red; the flag is mentioned in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle describing a battle around 1279, making it one of the world's oldest flag designs.

How many horizontal stripes does Uruguay's flag have?

9 equal stripes alternate white and blue; the original 1828 law called for 19, cut down two years later, and the Sun of May in the canton has 16 rays.

Gilbert Baker's original 1978 rainbow flag had how many colours?

Gilbert Baker's 1978 flag had eight stripes; hot pink and turquoise were soon dropped, leaving the six-stripe version standard since 1979.

What sits beneath the arc of seven stars on Tajikistan's flag?

A gold crown sits beneath the arc of seven stars on Tajikistan's white band; the red-white-green bands are proportioned 2:3:2, which also distinguishes it from Hungary's equal bands.