Wikipedia

List of national flags by design

A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a country. Flags come in many shapes and designs, which often represent something about the country or people that the flag represents. Common design elements of flags include shapes such as stars, stripes, and crosses, layout elements such as including a canton (a rectangle with a distinct design, such as another national flag), and the overall shape of a flag, such as the aspect ratio of a rectangular flag (whether the flag is square or rectangle, and how wide it is) or the choice of a non-rectangular flag. Sometimes these flags are used to represent languages.

Many countries with shared history, culture, ethnicity, or religion have similarities in their flags that represent this connection. Sets of flags in this list within the same category may represent countries' shared connections, or the design similarity may be a coincidence.

Circle

edit

One circle in center

edit

One circle on hoist

edit

One broken or implied circle

edit

Coat of arms

edit
See also: Coat of arms

Crescent

edit
See also: Star and crescent

Facing up

edit

Facing fly

edit

Facing diagonally

edit

Cross

edit

Upright centred cross

edit
See also: Christian cross variants

Saint George's Cross

edit

Nordic Cross

edit
Further information: Nordic Cross

Nordic Cross in two colors

edit

Nordic Cross in three colors

edit

Diagonal cross

edit
Main article: Saltire

St. Andrew's Cross

edit

Upright and diagonal centred crosses

edit

One cross in emblem

edit

Union Jack

edit
See also: British ensign and Flags of the British Empire

Historically

edit

Additionally, the Union Jack features in many territorial and sub-national flags. These are often Red Ensigns (e.g.,   Bermuda) or Blue Ensigns (e.g.,   New South Wales and   Anguilla). A small number have backgrounds of other colors (e.g.   British Antarctic Territory and   Niue) or a unique pattern in the field (e.g.   British Indian Ocean Territory and   Hawaii). A small number put the Union Jack somewhere other than the canton (e.g.   British Columbia). Unofficial flags, such as   Ross Dependency also use it.

Living organism

edit

Human and body parts

edit

Animal

edit

Bird

edit

Eagle

edit

Livestock

edit

Lion

edit

Historically

Plants

edit

Historically

Fleur-de-lis

edit

Objects

edit

Astronomical

edit

Sun

edit

Moon

edit

Weaponry

edit

Ships

edit

Machine, tool, or instrument

edit

Map

edit

Building

edit

Book

edit

Headgear

edit

Other symbols

edit

Star

edit

Five-pointed star

edit
See also: Five-pointed star

One five-pointed star in center

edit

One five-pointed star on hoist

edit

One five-pointed star on canton

edit
See also: Canton (flag)

Many equal five-pointed stars

edit

Many equal five-pointed stars in circle pattern

edit

Many unequal five-pointed stars

edit

Six-pointed star

edit

One six-pointed star

edit

Many equal six-pointed stars

edit

Many-pointed star

edit

One many-pointed star

edit

Many many-pointed stars

edit
  •   Australia (one 5-pointed star, five 7-pointed stars)

Stars and stripes

edit

Stars and alternating stripes

edit

Stars and varying stripes

edit

Stars in southern cross pattern

edit

Text

edit
Main article: List of inscribed flags

Country name

edit

Motto

edit

Country name and motto

edit
  •   Afghanistan (2013–2021) – the lowest line of text reads Afghanistan in the Pashto alphabet, and the calligraphic text at the top is the Shahada with the Takbir written beneath it.
  •   Brunei – the line of text on the crescent reads "Always render service with God's guidance", while the lower line reads Brunei Darussalam, both in the Jawi script.
  •   El Salvador – the name of the country encircles the coat of arms, which features the motto "Dios, Unión, Libertad" (Spanish for "God, Unity, Freedom") inside.
  •   Dominican Republic – the motto "Dios, Patria, Libertad" (meaning "God, Homeland, Freedom" in Spanish) can be read above the coat of arms at the center, below is the name of the country.

Other texts

edit
  •   California – the name of the short lived and unrecognized state "California Republic", which preceded California's admission into the Union.
  •   Dominican Republic – the Bible is opened to the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 32, which reads “Y la verdad los hará libres”, which translates to “And the truth shall set you free” from Spanish.
  •   Guatemala – "Libertad 15 de septiembre de 1821", a combination of the Spanish word for "Freedom" and the date of independence of the former Federal Republic of Central America from Spain.
  •   Haiti – "L'union fait la force" (meaning "Union makes strength" in French), which is different from the country's official motto "Liberté, égalité, fraternité".
  •   Malta – "For Gallantry" can be read at the George Cross carried in the canton.

Square and Rectangle

edit

Bordering stripe

edit
See also: Bordure

Upper left quarter

edit
See also: Canton (flag)

Historically

edit

Vertical stripe on hoist

edit
See also: Side (heraldry)

Four parts

edit

Two equal squares and two equal rectangles meeting on hoist

edit
See also: Nordic cross flag

Four equal rectangles meeting at center

edit
See also: Christian cross variants

Triangle

edit

Triangle(s) in center

edit

Triangle(s) on hoist

edit
See also: Chevron (insignia)
See also: Pile (heraldry)

Triangles meeting at center

edit
See also: Saltire

Diagonal stripes

edit

Two diagonal stripes

edit
See also: Division of the field § Common divisions of the field

Three fimbriated diagonal stripes

edit
See also: Bend (heraldry)

Many radiating diagonal stripes

edit

Pall

edit
See also: Pall (heraldry)

Horizontal stripes in two colors

edit

Two horizontal stripes

edit

Equal

edit

Unequal

edit

Three horizontal stripes

edit

Equal

edit

Thin-and-thick

edit

Fimbriated thin-and-thick

edit
See also: Fimbriation

Many horizontal stripes

edit

Equal

edit

Unequal

edit

Horizontal stripes in three colors

edit

Three horizontal stripes

edit

Equal

edit

Fimbriated equal

edit
See also: Fimbriation

Unequal

edit

Five horizontal stripes

edit

Unequal

edit

Horizontal stripes in many colors

edit

Four equal horizontal stripes in four colors

edit

Five equal horizontal stripes in five colors

edit

Vertical stripes in two colors

edit

Two equal vertical stripes

edit

Two unequal vertical stripes

edit

Two unequal serrated vertical stripes

edit

Three equal vertical stripes

edit

Three unequal vertical stripes

edit
Further information: Canadian pale

Vertical stripes in three colors

edit

Three equal vertical stripes

edit

Three unequal vertical stripes

edit

Unique aspect ratio

edit

Most common aspect ratio is 2:3, followed by 1:2.

The following flags have a distinctive aspect ratio:

  •   Belgium: Aspect ratio of 13:15
  •   El Salvador: Aspect ratio of 189:335
  •   Monaco: Aspect ratio of 4:5
  •   Nepal: The only national flag that is not rectangular, being made with 5 sides. Bordering aspect ratio of ~ 5:6
  •   Niger: Aspect ratio of 6:7
  •   Qatar: The largest aspect ratio of any national flag, the flag's width 2.545 times as large as the height. Aspect ratio of 11:28
  •   Switzerland: (Square-shaped) Aspect ratio of 1:1
  •   Togo: The golden ratio which is roughly around 1.618035 ; Aspect ratio of 2:3.23607 or ~ 8:13
  •   Vatican City: Undefined. The aspect ratio is usually defined around 1:1. However, it is not exactly 1:1.[1]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "letter to the German nunciature (2010-05-27)" (PDF) (in German). Retrieved 2021-09-26.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_national_flags_by_design&oldid=1225128410"