National Flags

This page is an attempt to classify the national flags of the world (by colour, design, symbols etc.), to make them easier for the quizzer to remember.

For a full list, classified by continent, please see Capital Cities, Currencies and Flags. For other (i.e. non–national) flags, please see Flags.

For each flag, I've given a description as well as a picture. The descriptions are designed to be used (if you so wish) to set questions without pictures.

Unless otherwise stated, where a symbol (decoration) is described it's centred in the flag.

Note that if you open any of the Information windows, you'll probably reveal the answer to the question!

Pan–Arab Colours

I added this section in July 2016 after watching the Eggheads struggle (and fail) to identify the colour of the top stripe in the flag of Yemen.

The flags of several Middle Eastern countries, and some North African ones, are horizontal tricolours in various combinations of the Pan–Arab colours: black, white, green and red. They're a real nightmare for the quizzer!

In the following table I've tried to describe the ones that I think are particularly confusing. They're in alphabetical order of the stripes as they appear on the flag, reading from top to bottom. For example: the flag that's described on the first row has black, white and green stripes, reading from top to bottom.

	Top to Bottom			Decoration		Country
	Black	White	Green	Red chevron against the hoist, with a white star		Jordan
	Green	White	Black	Red rectangle against the hoist		United Arab Emirates
	Green	White	Red	Inscription on the borders of the stripes (see below)		Iran
	Green	White	Red	Black trapezium to the left		Kuwait
	Red	Black	Green	White crescent and star on the black stripe		Libya
	Red	White	Black	Gold eagle crest on the white		Egypt
	Red	White	Black	Green inscription (the 'takbir') on the white		Iraq
	Red	White	Black	Green chevron against the hoist		Sudan
	Red	White	Black	Two green stars on the white		Syria
	Red	White	Black	Nothing		Yemen
	White	Red	Green	Red rectangle against the hoist, with the national emblem in white		Oman

There's one more flag that we probably should cover here:

Black

White

Green

Red chevron against the hoist (no star)

Palestine

Palestine of course is not a full member of the United Nations – it's a non–member observer state, along with the Holy See (a.k.a. the Vatican City). But that doesn't mean it won't come up in a quiz. Note that its flag is the same as that of Jordan, without the white star.

I've come up with a few mnemonics to help us remember all this – or at least, the order of the stripes (which, I believe, is at least half the battle). If you'd like to see them, please click here.

Other countries that use these colours

The following two flags use all four of the Pan–Arab colours, and are very similar except for the chevron in one case and the symbol in the other. Note that in both cases, the three main stripes in the tricolour are separated by narrow white ones.

	Horizontal tricolour	Black	Red	Green	Shield and crossed spears		Kenya
	Horizontal tricolour	Black	Red	Green	Blue chevron with a yellow star		South Sudan

Red, Green and Black

This section and the next deal with countries whose flags use three of the four pan–Arab colours – but are not (as far as I'm aware) Arab countries. Note that in some cases the third colour is in the symbol.

	Vertical tricolour	Black	Red	Green	National emblem in white			Afghanistan
	Horizontal tricolour	Black	Red	Green	Red sunrise on the black			Malawi

Red, White and Green

Red, white and green is a very popular combination. Red is typically used to represent the blood shed by a country's citizens in their struggle for freedom; white represents peace, and green represents agriculture.

	Vertical halves	Green	White		Crescent and star, in red			Algeria
	Two unequal horizontal bands, red above green, with a red and white ornamental design against the hoist							Belarus
	Horizontal tricolour	White	Green	Red	Nothing			Bulgaria
	A white saltire, dividing the field into red above and below and green to left and right; merging with a central white roundel, charged with three red stars bordered in green							Burundi
	Horizontal tricolour	Green	White	Red	Blue chevron against the hoist, and the coat of arms			Equatorial Guinea
	Horizontal tricolour	Red	White	Green	Nothing			Hungary
	Vertical tricolour	Green	White	Red	Nothing			Italy
	Horizontal triband	Red	White	Red	The national tree (a cedar) in green			Lebanon
	Two horizontal bands, red above green, with a white rectangle against the hoist							Madagascar
	A green rectangle centred on a red field, with a white crescent							Maldives
	Vertical tricolour	Green	White	Red	Coat of arms			Mexico
	Horizontal tricolour	Red	White	Green	A stylised crown with an arc of seven stars			Tajikistan

Red, White and Blue

Red, white and blue is probably the most popular of all colour combinations.

Vertical tricolours

The most famous red, white and blue tricolour is the only one where the bands are vertical.

	Starting at the hoist			Decoration		Country
	Blue	White	Red	Nothing		France

Horizontal tricolours

Four of the following eight countries were in Yugoslavia. The flag of Yugoslavia was a red, white and blue horizontal tricolour; interestingly, all four modern countries have chosen a different order from the Yugoslavian flag. Fortunately, each of them has its coat of arms on the flag, and this is probably the easiest way to distinguish them.

	Top to Bottom			Coat of arms		Country
	Red	Blue	White	Double-headed eagle, topped by a crown		Serbia
	Red	White	Blue	None (note that the blue is quite pale)		Luxembourg
	Red	White	Blue	None		The Netherlands
	Red	White	Blue	Coat of arms on the obverse; seal of the treasury on the reverse		Paraguay
	Red	White	Blue	Features the distinctive chequerboard shield		Croatia
	White	Blue	Red	None		Russia
	White	Blue	Red	A double cross on a triple peak		Slovakia
	White	Blue	Red	A mountain with three peaks, and three stars in the sky		Slovenia

For the record – because you never know when it might come up – here are the details of the Yugoslavian flag:

	Top to bottom			Decoration		Country
	Blue	White	Red	Nothing		Yugoslavia

Other red, white and blue flags

Note that as in other sections, some of these flags have coats of arms or symbols in colours other than blue and white – most commonly yellow.

	Five white stars of the Southern Cross, plus the Commonwealth Star, and the Union Flag in a canton; all on a blue field		Australia
	A broad blue bar, with narrow red bars above and below, and the coat of arms: two men, one with lighter skin bearing an axe, and one with darker skin bearing an oar, before a mahogany tree, bearing between them a shield; bordered by a circle of fifty leaves		Belize
	A blue, red and blue horizontal triband, with a depiction of the Angkor Wat temple complex in white		Cambodia
	A narrow red fess bordered by two white ones, on a blue field, with a circle of ten yellow stars representing its main islands		Cape Verde
	Two horizontal bands, white above red, with a white star in a blue canton		Chile
	A red bar, bordered above and below with narrower white and blue ones		Costa Rica
	A blue flag with two white bars; a red chevron, with a white star, against the hoist		Cuba
	Two equal horizontal bands, white above red, with a red chevron against the hoist		Czech Republic
	A white cross, with blue in the top quarter against the hoist and at the bottom fly, and red vice versa; coat of arms in the centre		Dominican Republic
	A red Nordic cross, with white borders, on a blue field		Iceland
	Wavy blue and white bands in the lower half, representing the sea; red above representing the sky, with a depiction of a yellow sun rising and a frigatebird above		Kiribati
	A red, blue and red tribar, with a white roundel in the centre		Laos
	A red flag with five white bars, and a white star in a blue canton		Liberia
	A red flag with seven white bars, and a blue canton with a yellow crescent and 14-pointed star		Malaysia
	A red flag with two triangular sections, each bearing a white symbol (the sun and a crescent moon), all bordered in blue		Nepal
	Four red stars of the Southern Cross, each bordered in white, and the Union Flag in a canton; all on a blue field		New Zealand
	A broad red bar, with blue bars above and below, separated by narrow white bars; and a red star in a white roundel		North Korea
	A blue Nordic cross, with white borders, on a red field		Norway
	Top fly quarter red, bottom hoist quarter blue; the other two quarters white, with a blue star in the top hoist quarter and a red star in the bottom fly		Panama
	Two equal bars, blue above red; a white chevron against the hoist, with a large yellow sun at its centre and a small yellow star in each corner		Philippines
	A red flag, with a blue canton bearing five white stars of the Southern Cross		Samoa
	A blue bar, bordered above and below with narrower white and red ones		Thailand
	A red symmetric cross and a red saltire, superimposed on a white saltire on a blue field, with a white border around the symmetric cross		United Kingdom
	A red flag with six white bars, and fifty white stars in a blue canton		USA

Red, Yellow and Blue

There are seven countries whose flags are red, yellow and blue tricolours. On four of them the stripes are vertical, and on the other three they're horizontal.

Just to confuse us even more, the four with vertical stripes all have the stripes in the same order, and so do the three with horizontal stripes.

Vertical tricolours

	Starting at the hoist			Decoration		Country
	Blue	Yellow	Red	Coat of arms (an ornate shield)		Andorra
	Blue	Yellow	Red	Nothing		Chad
	Blue	Yellow	Red	Coat of arms (an eagle bearing a shield with the head of an aurochs)		Moldova
	Blue	Yellow	Red	Nothing		Romania

There is no difference between the flags of Chad and Romania, except for a very slight colour variation. Needless to say, if setting either of these in a quiz, you should specify whether it's an African country or a European one.

Horizontal tricolours

	Top to Bottom			Decoration		Country
	Yellow	Blue	Red	Nothing		Colombia
	Yellow	Blue	Red	Coat of arms		Ecuador
	Yellow	Blue	Red	Eight white stars, arranged in an arc		Venezuela

Note that on the Colombian and Ecuadorean flags, the yellow stripe is twice as wide as the blue and red. But the easiest way to distinguish the three is by the decorations (nothing for Colombia, coat of arms for Ecuador, stars for Venezuela).

Red, Yellow and Green

There are just two countries whose flags are red, yellow and green tricolours. On both of them the stripes are horizontal. Neither of them has any decoration, so to distinguish between them it's simply a case of learning the order of the stripes.

Vertical tricolours

	Top to bottom			Decoration		Country
	Green	Yellow	Red	Yellow star on a blue roundel		Ethiopia
	Red	Yellow	Green	Nothing		Bolivia
	Red	Yellow	Green	Black star		Ghana
	Yellow	Green	Red	Nothing		Lithuania
	Yellow	Green	Red	White star		Myanmar

Horizontal tricolours

	From the hoist			Decoration		Country
	Green	Red	Yellow	Yellow star		Cameroon
	Green	Yellow	Red	None		Mali
	Green	Yellow	Red	Green star		Senegal
	Red	Yellow	Green	Nothing		Guinea

Other red, yellow and green flags

	Two equal bands, yellow above red, with a green rectangle against the hoist		Benin
	A yellow bend, with green above (and to the left) and red below (and to the right)		Congo
	Two equal bands, yellow above green, and a red rectangle against the hoist with a black star		Guinea-Bissau

Red, Yellow and Black

There are just two countries whose flags are red, yellow and black tricolours. Both are so well-known that any quizzer should be able to identify them. The only way you might get caught out is if you get asked what order the colours are in.

	Top to bottom			Decoration		Country
	Black	Yellow	Red	Nothing		Belgium
	Black	Red	Yellow	Nothing		Germany

Blue and White

	A pale blue, white and pale blue triband, with the Sun of May		Argentina
	A blue, white and blue triband, with the national coat of arms		El Salvador
	A blue Nordic cross on a white field		Finland
	A blue flag with four white bars, and a white Greek cross in a blue canton		Greece
	A blue, white and blue triband, with five blue stars arranged in a quincunx		Honduras
	A sky-blue, white and sky-blue vertical triband (representing the country's situation between two oceans), with the national emblem (which features a quetzal) in the centre		Guatemala
	A broad white band, bordered above and below by narrow blue and white bands, with a star of David outlined in blue		Israel
	Four white stars, each representing one of the four federal states, on a sky-blue field		Micronesia
	A blue, white and blue horizontal triband, with the national coat of arms (triangular in shape, with the name of the country in a circle around it) in the centre		Nicaragua
	Two equal horizontal bands, white above azure, with the national coat of arms in the centre		San Marino
	Azure, a mullet argent (a white star centred on a sky–blue field)		Somalia
	A white flag with four blue bars, and the yellow Sun of May in a white canton		Uruguay

Blue and Yellow

	Equal horizontal bands of aquamarine, gold and aquamarine, with a black chevron at the hoist		The Bahamas
	Equal vertical bands of ultramarine, gold and ultramarine, with a black trident (less its staff)		Barbados

Other

Colour used in more national flags than any other

Red

A black two–headed eagle on a red ground (European country)		Albania
Features a yellow half–gear, crossed with a machete and crowned with a star, on a background of an upper red half and a lower black half (African country)		Angola
Blue, white and blue horizontal bands, with a yellow sun on the central white band		Argentina
Flag said to have been invented during the Crusades by Duke Leopold V when he removed the belt from his blood–stained battledress (leaving a white stripe through the middle)		Austria
Green with a red circle in the middle		Bangladesh
Vertical stripes of blue, yellow and blue, with a black trident on the central (yellow) stripe		Barbados
Bears the motto Ordem e Progresso (Order and Progress); also more stars than any other country apart from the USA		Brazil
Bears the maple leaf as a national symbol		Canada
Known as La Estrella Solitaria (the Lone Star) – has a single white star in a blue canton		Chile
Map of the country		Cyprus
The only two European countries whose flags have neither red nor blue in them		Cyprus
		Ireland (Republic of)
Three horizontal stripes, of red, white and blue (top to bottom), with the national coat of arms featuring the distinctive chequerboard shield		Croatia
National flag that has remained unchanged the longest (dates back to the 14th century)		Denmark
(Commonwealth) countries with the Union Jack on their flags: Australia, NZ and		Fiji
Blue and white horizontal stripes, with a blue cross in a white canton		Greece
Features the dark blue, 24–spoke "wheel of law" (Dharmachakra)		India
Adopted in 1980: bears the words "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest) in stylised Arabic script, 22 times – 11 times at the edge of each coloured horizontal band (green at the top and red at the bottom); and, on the central white band, the symbol known as the tawhid ("the oneness [of God]")		Iran
Flag is the same as the Republic of Ireland's, but the other way round (orange nearest the flagpole) – African country		Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)
The only country whose flag doesn't have red, white or blue		Jamaica
Shield and crossed spears		Kenya
National flag with a tree on it (a cedar – the national tree)		Lebanon
Modelled on the US flag – but only 11 stripes and one star (African republic)		Liberia
Had a flag of only one colour (green), from 1977 to 2011		Libya
Black, red and green horizontal stripes, with a red sunrise on the black		Malawi
Changed its flag in 2017, by adding red bands at the top and bottom (to a yellow star and upward–pointing crescent on a green field)		Mauritania
Coat of arms, featured on the flag, has an eagle perched on a cactus plant, eating a snake		Mexico
Interlinked outline of a green star, on a red background		Morocco
Includes the yellow star of Marxism, a book to represent education, a hoe for agriculture, and a Kalashnikov AK–47 rifle for defence (African republic)		Mozambique
The only country whose flag is not rectangular (essentially two right–angled triangles)		Nepal
(Commonwealth) countries with the Southern Cross on their flags: Australia, NZ, and		Papua New Guinea
		Samoa
Two different sides: one has the national arms, one the treasury seal		Paraguay
Flag is essentially similar to that of Canada, without the maple leaf		Peru
Arabic inscription ("There is no god but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God") above a sword – white, on a green ground		Saudi Arabia
Bears a representation of Triglav, its highest mountain		Slovenia
Flag has six colours (red, white, blue, yellow, green and black) – more than any other (ignoring coats of arms, etc.)		South Africa
Black, red and green horizontal stripes, each separated by a narrow white stripe; a blue triangle to the left, with a yellow star		South Sudan
Shows a yellow lion, holding a sword or dagger, on a dark red background; also (on the left hand side) vertical green and orange stripes; all on a yellow background		Sri Lanka
European country with a square flag (also Vatican City)		Switzerland
Nine horizontal stripes, five white and four blue, with the sun in a canton		Uruguay
Controversially added an eighth star to its flag, in 2006		Venezuela

© Haydn Thompson 2018–24