Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
Jump to content

List of national flags by design

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 178.120.48.173 (talk) at 08:02, 16 September 2024 (→Nordic Cross in two colors). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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

One circle in center

One circle on hoist

One broken or implied circle

Coat of arms

See also: Coat of arms

Crescent

See also: Star and crescent

Facing up

Facing fly

Facing diagonally

Cross

Upright centred cross

See also: Christian cross variants

Saint George's Cross

Nordic Cross

Further information: Nordic Cross

Nordic Cross in two colors

Nordic Cross in three colors

Diagonal cross

Main article: Saltire

St. Andrew's Cross

Upright and diagonal centred crosses

One cross in emblem

Union Jack

See also: British ensign and Flags of the British Empire

Historically

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

Human and body parts

Animal

Bird

Eagle

Livestock

Lion

Historically

Plants

Historically

Fleur-de-lis

Objects

Astronomical

Sun

Moon

Weaponry

Ships

Machine, tool, or instrument

Map

Building

Book

Headgear

Other symbols

Star

Five-pointed star

See also: Five-pointed star

One five-pointed star in center

One five-pointed star on hoist

One five-pointed star on canton

See also: Canton (flag)

Many equal five-pointed stars

Many equal five-pointed stars in circle pattern

Many unequal five-pointed stars

Six-pointed star

One six-pointed star

Many equal six-pointed stars

Many-pointed star

One many-pointed star

Many many-pointed stars

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

Stars and stripes

Stars and alternating stripes

Stars and varying stripes

Stars in southern cross pattern

Text

Main article: List of inscribed flags

Country name

Motto

  •  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

  •  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

  •  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.

Quadrilateral

Bordering stripe

See also: Bordure

Upper left quarter

See also: Canton (flag)

Historically

Vertical stripe on hoist

See also: Side (heraldry)

Four parts

Two equal squares and two equal rectangles meeting on hoist

See also: Nordic cross flag

Four equal rectangles meeting at center

See also: Christian cross variants

Triangle

Triangle(s) in center

Triangle(s) on hoist

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

Triangles meeting at center

See also: Saltire

Diagonal stripes

Two diagonal stripes

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

Three fimbriated diagonal stripes

See also: Bend (heraldry)

Many radiating diagonal stripes

Pall

See also: Pall (heraldry)

Horizontal stripes in two colors

Two horizontal stripes

Equal

Unequal

Three horizontal stripes

Equal

Thin-and-thick

Fimbriated thin-and-thick

See also: Fimbriation

Many horizontal stripes

Equal

Unequal

Horizontal stripes in three colors

Three horizontal stripes

Equal

Fimbriated equal

See also: Fimbriation

Unequal

Five horizontal stripes

Unequal

Horizontal stripes in many colors

Four equal horizontal stripes in four colors

Five equal horizontal stripes in five colors

Vertical stripes in two colors

Two equal vertical stripes

Two unequal vertical stripes

Two unequal serrated vertical stripes

Three equal vertical stripes

Three unequal vertical stripes

Further information: Canadian pale

Vertical stripes in three colors

Three equal vertical stripes

Countrys

Unique aspect ratio

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, and the only one that is higher than wide. Bordering aspect ratio of ~ 6:5
  •  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

References

  1. ^ "letter to the German nunciature (2010-05-27)" (PDF) (in German). Retrieved 2021-09-26.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_national_flags_by_design&oldid=1245989379"