List of national flags by design

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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]

  •  Afghanistan (under an unrecognized government) – the Shahada (an Islamic creed meaning "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet") written in the Thuluth script.
  •  Andorra – "VIRTVS VNITA FORTIOR", Classical Latin for "United virtue is stronger".
  •  Belize – "Sub Umbra Floreo", meaning "Under the Shade I Flourish" in Latin.
  •  Brazil – "Ordem e Progresso", meaning "Order and Progress" in Portuguese.
  •  Equatorial Guinea – "Unidad, Paz, Justicia", meaning "Unity, Peace, Justice" in Spanish
  •  Iran – the Takbir ("Allahu akbar", which means "God is [the] greatest") written in the Kufic script 11 times.
  •  Iraq – the Takbir written in the Kufic script.
  •  San Marino – "LIBERTAS", Latin for "Freedom".
  •  Saudi Arabia – the Shahada (an Islamic creed meaning "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet") written in the Thuluth script.
  •  Somaliland – the Shahada
  •  Spain – "PLVS VLTRA", Latin for "Further beyond".

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 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.

External links[edit]

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