Civilisation/Flags

Terminology

Canton – any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist (left) quarter

Charge – a figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag

Field – the background of a flag; the colour behind the charges

Fimbriation – the placement of small stripes of colour around common charges or ordinaries, usually in order for them to stand out from the background, e.g. the white lines around the red cross on the Union Jack

Fly – the half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole. This term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag.

Hoist – the half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole. This term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag

Countries

The centre emblem of the Flag of Afghanistan is the emblem of Afghanistan with a mosque with its mihrab facing Mecca

Manuel Belgrano designed the flag of Argentina in 1812

Sun of May is on the flag of Argentina and Uruguay. The specification ‘of May’ is a reference to the May Revolution which took place in the week from 18 to 25 May 1810, which marked the beginning of the independence from the Spanish Empire for the countries that were part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

The symbol in the middle of the flag of Angola is of a crossed cog wheel (representing workers and industry) and machete (representing the peasantry) with a gold star

Australia’s flag is also called the Commonwealth Blue Ensign. It has three main design elements: the British Union Jack flag, the Southern Cross constellation (five stars) is on the right side of the flag, the large, white, seven-pointed Commonwealth Star (also called the Star of Federation) – it is symbolic of the original states of Australia

According to legend, the flag of Austria was invented by Duke Leopold V as a consequence of his fighting during the Crusades. After a fierce battle, his white battle dress was completely drenched in blood. When he removed his belt, the cloth underneath was untouched by it, revealing the combination of red-white-red

Flag of Belize is unique in that it contains twelve colours, three more than on any other national flag.  Also, it is the only country to have human beings (woodcutters) depicted on its national flag

Flag of Bhutan features a dragon holding jewels

Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina chosen in 1992 has a white background with the Bosnian Fleur-de-lis in the centre. Replaced in 1998 with current flag

The current flag of Comoros was adopted in 2003. The former flag was a crescent on a green field. The new design retains the crescent but places it within a green triangle. In addition, four stripes were added to symbolize the four islands of the nation

The main coat of arms is a checkerboard on the flag of Croatia. The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions within Croatia

Denmark has the oldest national flag. Known as the Dannebrog

Flag of Dominican Republic features a shield with the flag design and supported by a bay laurel branch and a palm frond at the centre of the cross

Flag of Egypt depicts Egypt's national emblem, the Eagle of Saladin (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band of the three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black

Flag of Eritrea has a wreath with upright olive branch symbol

Flag of Greece has nine horizontal stripes

The symbol in the hoist of the flag of Grenada represents a clove of nutmeg

In the centre of the flag of Guatemala is the coat of arms. It includes the Resplendent Quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala that symbolizes liberty; a parchment scroll bearing the date of Central America's independence from Spain, 15 September 1821; crossed rifles, a bay laurel crown, and crossed swords

Flag of Guyana is known as the Golden Arrowhead

In the centre of the flag of India is a navy blue wheel with twenty-four spokes, known as the Ashoka Chakra, taken from the Lion Capital of Asoka erected atop Ashoka pillar at Sarnath. Flag of India is known as Tiranga

On the flag of Iran the statement ‘God is Great’ is written in white a total of 22 times on the fringe of both the green and red bands in the Kufic script

Following the Revolution of 1958, Iraq adopted a new flag. From 1963 to 1991 the flag was a horizontal tricolour of red, white, and black bands with three green stars in the white band

Flag of Indonesia is the same as the flag of Monaco

Flag of Italy is derived from the standard of Napoleon’s French guards, who invaded Italy

The national flag of Japan is called the Hinomaru. Its name comes from the Japanese word hinomaru, which literally means ‘sun circle’

The seven-point white star on the flag of Jordan refers to the first seven verses of the Koran

Flag of Kazakhstan has a gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue background

Flag of Kiribati has a frigate bird

Flag of Kosovo has six white stars in an arc above a gold-coloured map of Kosovo in the centre

Flag of Laos adopted in 1975. From 1952 until the fall of the royal government in 1975 the country had a red flag, with a white three-headed elephant (the god Erawan) in the middle

Flag of Lesotho was adopted in 2006, and features a horizontal blue, white, and green tricolour with a black mokorotlo (a Basotho hat) in the centre. Replaced a flag which featured a brown traditional Basotho shield along with a lance and club

The crown was added to the flag of Liechtenstein in 1937, after it was discovered by Liechtenstein's team at the 1936 Summer Olympics that the flag then in use was identical to the flag of Haiti

Flag of Libya was originally introduced in 1951, following the creation of the Kingdom of Libya. This flag was subsequently adopted by the National Transitional Council and formally reclaimed as the country's national flag in the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration issued on 3 August 2011

Flag of Malawi was changed in 2010. The rising sun at the flag's top was replaced with a full, centered white sun representing the economic progress Malawi has made since becoming independent

The kanaga emblem was dropped from the flag of Mali in 1961

In the upper hoist corner of the flag of Malta is the George Cross

Flag of Moldova has the coat of arms on the obverse, but not on the reverse. Along with the flag of Paraguay and the flag of Saudi Arabia, the flag of Moldova is the only national flag with differing obverse and reverse sides

Soyombo is a Buddhist icon on the flag of Mongolia

Flag of Montenegro is based on the personal standard of King Nikola I of Montenegro

Seal of Solomon is a green pentagram on the flag of Morocco

Flag of Mozambique includes the image of an AK-47 and is the only national flag in the world to feature such a modern rifle

Flag of Myanmar was changed in 2010. The new flag has a five-pointed white star in the centre

New Zealand flag has four red five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross

Flag of Papua New Guinea features a bird of paradise (Kumul)

Flag of Paraguay has the lion and staff on one side, and the May Star on the other side

Flag of Portugal has a simple version of the national coat of arms (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield)

Flag of Romania is almost identical to the flag of Chad, which differs only in having a darker shade of blue (indigo rather than cobalt)

Rwanda introduced a new flag in 2002, with a golden sun replacing the ‘R’

Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has three diamonds arranged in a V which stands for Vincent. The previous flags had a realistic breadfuit leaf

The blue rectangle on the flag of Samoa bears the Southern Cross Constellation: four large white stars and one smaller star

Flag of Saudi Arabia is manufactured with differing obverse and reverse sides, to ensure the shahada reads correctly, from right to left, from either side. The sword points from hoist to fly on both sides. The Arabic inscription on the flag, written in the Thuluth script, is the shahada or Islamic declaration of faith: ‘There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God’

Flag of Singapore was first adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It was reconfirmed as the national flag when the Republic gained independence in 1965

Flag of Slovakia features a red shield with a double cross

Flag of South Africa has a green pall (the Y-shape). Union Jack removed from new South African flag in 1994

Flag of Switzerland is square

Union Jack was removed from flag of Tuvalu, then restored

Flag of USA has nine rows of stars (five rows of six, four rows of five). The design of the flag has been modified 26 times officially, since 1777

The emblem in the black section of the flag of Vanuatu is a boar's tusk

Flag of Vatican City is a yellow and white square. On the white area is surmounted the Papal crown and two crossed keys, which represent the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven

Flag of Zambia has an orange coloured eagle in flight

Flag of Zimbabwe has a soapstone bird which represents a statuette of a bird found at the ruins of Great Zimbabwe. It is a representation of most likely the Bateleur eagle or the African Fish Eagle

Flags of other regions

Flag of East Germany had a hammer and a pair of dividers

Flag of Yugoslavia was blue, white and red stripes, with a five-pointed red star in the centre

Flag of Zaire was a yellow circle with a hand holding a torch, on a green background

The flower on the Hong Kong flag is the Orchid Tree (Bauhinia Blakeana) is named after the British Governor of Hong Kong from 1898 to 1903, Sir Henry Blake, a keen botanist who discovered it

Flag of Corsica is white with a Moor’s head in the middle

Flag of Sardinia is white with a red cross and four Saracen’s heads

Flag of Sicily is bisected diagonally into regions coloured red and yellow, and has a triskelion in its middle, the (winged) head of Medusa and three wheat ears

The flag of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands is a vertical tricolour of three equal bands of white, blue, and yellow. The state flag includes the Coat of arms of the Canary Islands in the central band. Coat of arms has two dogs

The flag of the now-defunct Empire of Manchukuo had a mustard yellow field with four horizontal stripes of different colors in the upper-left corner

The flag of the Commonwealth of Nations consists of the Commonwealth symbol in gold on a blue field. The symbol centres on a globe, representing the global nature of the Commonwealth and the breadth of its membership. The globe is surrounded by 61 radiating, approximately quadrilateral, spears, which form a 'C' for 'Commonwealth'

Asean flag – set upon a blue background, ten paddy or rice stalks are drawn in the middle of a red circle with white circumference

The CIS flag is light blue in colour with a white arcade like design at the centre of it and a golden circle in the middle

Flag of Anguilla consists of a Blue Ensign with the British flag in the canton, charged with the coat of arms of Anguilla in the fly. The coat of arms consists of three dolphins

Flag of Catalonia is known as the Senyera. Four red stripes on a golden background

Flag of Ibiza has four castles

Flag of Gibraltar is two horizontal bands of white and red with a three-towered red castle in the centre of the white band; hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centred in the red band. Montis Insignia Calpe – ‘Insignia of the Mountain of Calpe’ is on Gibraltar coat of arms. Mons Calpe was the Latin name of the Rock of Gibraltar

New Caledonia has two official national flags – the tricolore of France and the Kanak flag (Kanak are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia)

Flag of Christmas Island includes the Southern Cross and a golden bosun bird

Flag of Montserrat is a Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and the Coat of arms of Montserrat in the fly. The arms feature Erin, the female personification of Ireland, and the golden harp

Flag of Abkhazia – green and white stripes with a white open hand

USA

Flag of Alaska consists of eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and the North Star, on a dark blue field

Flag of Connecticut consists of a white baroque shield with three grapevines (each bearing three bunches of purple grapes

Flag of Delaware consists of a buff-coloured diamond on a field of colonial blue, with the coat of arms of the state of Delaware inside the diamond. Below the diamond, the date 7 December 1787, declares the day on which Delaware became the first state to ratify the United States Constitution

Flag is Georgia is often given the nickname ‘Georgian Stars and Bars’

Flag of Hawaii has a Union Jack

Flag of Indiana has a gold torch surrounded by an outer circle of thirteen stars

Flag of Louisiana features a pelican

Flag of Maryland consists of the heraldic banner of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore. It is the only state flag in the United States to be based on English heraldry

Flag of Michigan has an elk, a moose and a bald eagle

Flag of Mississippi is currently the only United States state flag that incorporates the Battle Flag of the Confederacy

Flag of New Jersey has the words ‘Liberty and Prosperity’ on it, and a buff background

Flag of New York has two figures representing liberty and justice, and the word ‘excelsior’

Flag of Oregon – on the front is the escutcheon (shield) from the state seal and on the reverse is a gold figure of a beaver, the state animal. Oregon is the only US state to have a two-sided flag

Flag of Pennsylvania features two black horses and a bald eagle

Flag of South Carolina has a palmetto tree

Flag of Wyoming consists of the silhouette of an American Bison

‘Old Glory’ – US flag, first used on the brig Charles Doggett in 1831

Flag of the District of Columbia consists of three red stars above two red bars on a white background. It is based on the design of the coat of arms of George Washington

Flag of New York City is a vertical tricolor of blue, white, and orange charged in the center bar with municipal seal in blue

US navy jack consists of a rattlesnake superimposed across 13 alternating red and white stripes with the motto, ‘Don't Tread On Me’

British Isles

In 1606, a new flag to represent the regal union between England and Scotland was specified in a royal decree, according to which the flag of England (a red cross on a white background, known as St George's Cross), and the flag of Scotland (a white saltire on a blue background, known as the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross), would be joined together, forming the flag of Great Britain and first union flag. The current and second Union Jack dates from 1801 with the Act of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The new design added a red saltire, the cross of Saint Patrick, for Ireland

Saltire – Saint Andrew’s Cross. Appears on the flag of Scotland

Harp – represents Northern Ireland on Union flag

Saint Piran’s flag – flag of Cornwall. White cross on a black background. Flag of Cornwall is said to represent tin and its ore

Saint Petroc’s flag – flag of Devon. White cross on a green background

Flag of Northumberland – red lines on a gold background

Flag of St David is a gold cross on a black field

Flag of Jersey is white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag and in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow Plantagenet crown, the badge of Jersey

Flag of Guernsey consists of the red cross of St. George with an additional gold cross within it

Flag of Shetland is sky blue with a white cross

Flag of Orkney is red with a blue and yellow cross

White ensign is flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field with the Union Flag in the upper canton. The White ensign is also flown by the Royal Yacht Squadron and ships escorting the Queen

Red ensign is flown by the Merchant Navy

Flag of suffragette movement – green (for hope), purple (for dignity) and white (for purity)

A state flag is a variant of a national flag. In some countries state flag is a more complex version of the national flag, often featuring the national coat of arms or some other emblem as part of the design

Some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by non-military government ships such as coast guard vessels

Flag of Convenience – flag of one country, flown by a ship owned by a citizen of another country. The ship owner can thereby often avoid taxes and make registration easier; the country providing the flag charges money for that service

Ensigns are usually required to be flown when entering and leaving harbour, when sailing through foreign waters, and when the ship is signalled to do so by a warship

Jacks are additional national flags flown by warships (and certain other vessels) at the head of the ship

Flag upside down – ship in distress

Submarines fly the Jolly Roger on return to port

Blue Peter is flown when a ship is about to leave port

Military hospitals fly yellow flags