Middle East and Africa
Turkey
Tunis
Egypt
Jebel Shammar
Nejd
Tripoli 11 The most commonly reported flag from the period. Flags with green, white and red stripes also seem to have been used. Probably flown exclusively on ships. The Turkish flag was the official national flag.
Morocco 22 Flown over the palace in Rabat and on ships. Military flags on land were often dectorated with a yellow or green octagram.
Muscat and Oman · Zanzibar · Bahrain 33 Arab monarchies, especially those in and around the Gulf, flew plain red flags from their ships. These weren't quite "national flags" in the modern sense, but European powers tended to view them that way.
Ras al-Khaimah · Sharjah 44 Officially all of the Trucial States were supposed to fly a square red flag with a thick white border. In practice this flag became exclusively associated with the Al Qasimi dynasty. The other states mostly flew plain red flags.
Madagascar
Persia
Mount Lebanon
Futa Jallon
Sokoto Caliphate
green flag of Islam 55 Flown by exclusively by the sultan as a symbol of religious authority. Not really a "national flag" as we'd understand it in modern terms. The sultan also gave white flags to his vassal emirs within the Caliphate.
Orange Free State
South African Republic (Transvaal)
Liberia
Western Europe
France
Italy
national flag 66 Flown by private citizens and merchant ships. The "Italian Social Republic", the Nazi puppet regime in the north, flew the plain tricolour as a national flag and had a war flag with an eagle gripping a fasces. The anti-fascist Italian partisans flew either plain tricolours or tricolours with a white or red star on the middle stripe.
Italy
state flag 77 Flown by the government and navy.
Belgium
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Spain
Switzerland
army flag 88 Flag of the federal army, treated as an unofficial national flag.
Denmark
national flag 99 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Denmark
sovereign flag 1010 Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies.
Norway
merchant flag 1111 Allowed to be flown by anyone. The union mark in the top-left corner of the flag was flown on its own as a joint diplomatic flag for Sweden and Norway.
Norway
state flag 1212 Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.
Sweden
merchant flag 1313 Allowed to be flown by anyone. The union mark in the top-left corner of the flag was flown on its own as a joint diplomatic flag for Sweden and Norway.
Sweden
war flag 1414 Flown on government buildings and by the military.
Greece
land flag 1515 Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross.
Greece
sea flag 1616 Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross.
Samos
United Kingdom
England
Scotland
Jersey
San Marino
Papal States
Portugal
Malta
traditional flag 1717 Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships.
Andorra
Monaco
Catalonia
Cornwall
Corsica
Wales
Ireland
Flanders
Ionian Islands
German States
German Confederation
Prussia
royal flag 1818 Flown by the monarchy and government.
Prussia
merchant flag 1919 Flown by merchant ships.
Prussia
state colours 2020 The traditional heraldic colours of Prussia, often used as a flag on land.
Austria
Imperial colours 2121 The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land.
Austria
naval flag 2222 Flown by merchant and navy ships.
Hesse-Darmstadt
Hesse-Kassel
state colours 2323 Designated as the official colours of Hesse. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Hesse-Homburg
state colours 2424 Designated as the official colours of Hesse. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Lübeck
state flag 2525 Flown by the government.
Lübeck
merchant flag 2626 Flown by merchant ships.
Hamburg
Frankfurt
Bremen 2727 The number of stripes could vary but eight was the most common.
Lippe
princely flag 2828 Flown by the prince and used as a state flag.
Lippe
state colours 2929 Designated as the official colours of Lippe. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Baden 3030 Designed to be used as a diplomatic flag. Within the grand duchy, flags were made various configurations of red and yellow stripes.
Liechtenstein
princely flag 3131 Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag.
Lauenburg
state colours 3232 Based on the heraldic colours of Saxony. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. The Danish flag also saw widespread use.
Württemberg
state colours 3333 Designated as the official colours of Württemberg. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. Black and yellow flags were also in use around this time.
Waldeck-Pyrmont
Reuss Elder Line
state colours 3434 Designated as the official colours of Reuss. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Reuss Junior Line
state colours 3535 Designated as the official colours of Reuss. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Saxon Duchies
state colours 3636 Designated as the official colours of the Ernestine duchies in Thuringia: Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Saxony
Anhalt 3737 The green and white state colours were still unofficially used on some flags.
Schaumburg-Lippe
Oldenburg
Bavaria
state colours 3838 Designated as the official colours of Bavaria. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. There are many reported variants from the period, some with more stripes, others with the diamond pattern from the Bavarian arms.
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
state colours 3939 Designated as the official colours of Schwarzburg. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
state colours 4040 Designated as the official colours of Schwarzburg. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Brunswick
state colours 4141 Designated as the official colours of Brunswick. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
state colours 4242 Designated as the official colours of Mecklenburg-Schewerin. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Nassau
Hanover
merchant flag 4343 Flown by merchant ships.
Hanover
state colours 4444 Designated as the official colours of Hanover. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one.
Heligoland
Eastern Europe
Russia
Imperial standard 4545 The flag of the Emperor, often regarded as the Russian national flag during the period.
Russia
armorial flag 4646 Flown on government buildings, especially military buildings, and as patriotic decoration.
Russia
trade flag 4747 Flown by merchant ships.
Carniola
national colours 4848 Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia.
Slovakia 4949 Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag.
Croatia and Slavonia
Serbia
national flag 5050 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Serbia
state flag 5151 Flown the government and armed forces.
Hungary 5252 Prohibited within the Austrian Empire but still flown by Hungarian nationalists.
Romania
Ukraine 5353 Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed.
Bohemia
state colours 5454 Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Bohemia. Not an official flag, but informally regarded as a Czech national symbol. A white flag with the Bohemian coat of arms was also sometimes used.
Montenegro
batallion flag 5555 Flown by the prince and the military.
Poland
banner 5656 The former royal banner of Poland, no longer official but still used as an informal national symbol.
Bulgaria 5757 A typical flag flown by Bulgarian nationalists and revolutionaries in the pre-independence period. The flag would sometimes have different inscriptions or colours, but a golden lion on green was a common element. The slogan here reads "Freedom or Death!"
Circassia
South Asia and the Indian Ocean
Hyderabad
Jammu and Kashmir 5858 The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom.
Nepal
Jhabua 5959 The raja's flag was rectangular
Dewas
Kota
princely flag 6060 Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer.
Maldive Islands
Kishangarh
Sailana
Ajaigarh 6161 The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower.
Mewar 6262 Mewar had a number of reported princely banners which were also sometimes used as state flags. The most common one had a large yellow sun and a blue katar dagger.
Porbandar
Kolhapur 6363 Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag.
Dhar
Jaipur
Alwar
Idar
Sirohi
Jodhpur
Gwalior
princely flag 6464 Flag of the maharaja, also used as a state flag. Plain saffron flags were also sometimes flown.
Jaisalmer
Bikaner
Banswara
Dholpur
Rajpipla
princely flag 6565 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag.
Rajpipla
national flag 6666 Allowed to be flown by civilians.
Indore 6767 Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours.
Kalat
Travancore
Manipur
Rajgarh
Sitamau 6868 The Raja's flag had a red sun
Bundi
Alirajpur
Khairpur
East and Southeast Asia
Japan
China 6969 Flown by naval ships.
Cambodia
Siam
Luang Prabang
Champassak
Burma
Kelantan · Perak · Terengganu 7070 Malay monarchs often flew plain white flags. These standards eventually evolved into individual state flags as more colours and symbols were added.
Jambi
sultan's flag 7171 Flown by the sultan and by naval ships.
Jambi
nobles' flag 7272 Flown by nobles at sea.
Jambi
merchant flag 7373 Flown by commoner merchants at sea.
Johor
Pahang
sultan's flag 7474 Flown by the sultan.
Brunei
sultan's flag 7575 Flown by the sultan and also used as an unofficial state flag.
Sarawak
Selangor
Kedah
Aceh
national flag 7676 Flown by the government, particularly at sea, as a way of nominally invoking the protection of the Ottoman Empire.
Aceh
sultan's flag 7777 Flown by the sultan and by warships. There are many other reported flags from the era, and it's not clear exactly how they were all used. Merchant ships often flew a plain red flag.
Asahan
Sulu 7878 Reported flag from this era. It's exact use isn't known.
Oceania
Tonga
Samoa
ʻUvea
Rimatara
Tahiti
Rarotonga
Mangareva
Rurutu
Huahine
Raʻiatea
Bora Bora
Tahuata
Hawaiʻi
Australia
New Zealand 7979 The former flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, which remained in use as an unofficial symbol of the country.
North America
United States
Texas
Newfoundland 8080 An unofficial local flag. The British colony of Newfoundland had no distinctive local symbols.
Métis
Latin America
Brazil
Mexico
Peru
national ensign 8181 Flown by the government, the navy, the national police, and national sports teams. Raised at major ceremonies. The army uses a similar flag with a different coat of arms.
Peru
national flag 8282 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Argentina
Honduras · Nicaragua · Salvador
Uruguay
Paraguay
front side
Paraguay
back side
Guatemala
Costa Rica
national flag 8383 The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too.
Costa Rica
national ensign 8484 Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens.
Cuba 8585 Flown by Cuban nationalists and revolutionaries who sought independence from Spain.
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Chile
Venezuela
national ensign 8686 Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.
Venezuela
national flag 8787 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Colombia
Ecuador
Bolivia
state flag 8888 Flown by the government and armed forces.
Bolivia
national flag 8989 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Events of 1863
ANHALT • The duchies of Anhalt were united into a single state on August 30. The unified Duchy flew a tricolour flag.
CAMBODIA • Cambodia became a French protectorate on August 11. During the protectorate period, Cambodia flew a flag with a white temple.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC • The Dominican Republic declared independence from Spain again on September 14. Spain would formally revoke its annexation two years later.
MECKLENBURG • Mecklenburg-Schwerin adopted a flag on December 23.
PRUSSIA • Prussia adopted a squared-off civil flag around 1863.
UNITED STATES • West Virginia, having broken away from the Confederate-aligned government of Virginia, was admitted to the union on June 20. A 35th star was added to the flag on July 4.
Meanwhile, the slave-holding Confederacy also adopted a new national flag (not pictured above) on May 26. The rebellion's white supremacist ideology was baked into the design. Its creator, journalist William Tappan Thompson, called it "The White Man's Flag" and wrote in his paper: "As a people, we are fighting to maintain the heaven ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race: a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause." Opponents of the new flag noted that it looked too much like a flag of surrender.
VENEZUELA • Federal War came to an end on April 24. On 29 July, the new Federalist government added seven white stars to the state flag.
Notes
1 The most commonly reported flag from the period. Flags with green, white and red stripes also seem to have been used. Probably flown exclusively on ships. The Turkish flag was the official national flag. ↩
2 Flown over the palace in Rabat and on ships. Military flags on land were often dectorated with a yellow or green octagram. ↩
3 Arab monarchies, especially those in and around the Gulf, flew plain red flags from their ships. These weren't quite "national flags" in the modern sense, but European powers tended to view them that way. ↩
4 Officially all of the Trucial States were supposed to fly a square red flag with a thick white border. In practice this flag became exclusively associated with the Al Qasimi dynasty. The other states mostly flew plain red flags. ↩
5 Flown by exclusively by the sultan as a symbol of religious authority. Not really a "national flag" as we'd understand it in modern terms. The sultan also gave white flags to his vassal emirs within the Caliphate. ↩
6 Flown by private citizens and merchant ships. The "Italian Social Republic", the Nazi puppet regime in the north, flew the plain tricolour as a national flag and had a war flag with an eagle gripping a fasces. The anti-fascist Italian partisans flew either plain tricolours or tricolours with a white or red star on the middle stripe. ↩
7 Flown by the government and navy. ↩
8 Flag of the federal army, treated as an unofficial national flag. ↩
9 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
10 Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩
11 Allowed to be flown by anyone. The union mark in the top-left corner of the flag was flown on its own as a joint diplomatic flag for Sweden and Norway. ↩
12 Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩
13 Allowed to be flown by anyone. The union mark in the top-left corner of the flag was flown on its own as a joint diplomatic flag for Sweden and Norway. ↩
14 Flown on government buildings and by the military. ↩
15 Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩
16 Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩
17 Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. ↩
18 Flown by the monarchy and government. ↩
19 Flown by merchant ships. ↩
20 The traditional heraldic colours of Prussia, often used as a flag on land. ↩
21 The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land. ↩
22 Flown by merchant and navy ships. ↩
23 Designated as the official colours of Hesse. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
24 Designated as the official colours of Hesse. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
25 Flown by the government. ↩
26 Flown by merchant ships. ↩
27 The number of stripes could vary but eight was the most common. ↩
28 Flown by the prince and used as a state flag. ↩
29 Designated as the official colours of Lippe. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
30 Designed to be used as a diplomatic flag. Within the grand duchy, flags were made various configurations of red and yellow stripes. ↩
31 Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. ↩
32 Based on the heraldic colours of Saxony. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. The Danish flag also saw widespread use. ↩
33 Designated as the official colours of Württemberg. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. Black and yellow flags were also in use around this time. ↩
34 Designated as the official colours of Reuss. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
35 Designated as the official colours of Reuss. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
36 Designated as the official colours of the Ernestine duchies in Thuringia: Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
37 The green and white state colours were still unofficially used on some flags. ↩
38 Designated as the official colours of Bavaria. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. There are many reported variants from the period, some with more stripes, others with the diamond pattern from the Bavarian arms. ↩
39 Designated as the official colours of Schwarzburg. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
40 Designated as the official colours of Schwarzburg. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
41 Designated as the official colours of Brunswick. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
42 Designated as the official colours of Mecklenburg-Schewerin. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
43 Flown by merchant ships. ↩
44 Designated as the official colours of Hanover. Not technically a national flag, but often used as one. ↩
45 The flag of the Emperor, often regarded as the Russian national flag during the period. ↩
46 Flown on government buildings, especially military buildings, and as patriotic decoration. ↩
47 Flown by merchant ships. ↩
48 Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia. ↩
49 Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag. ↩
50 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
51 Flown the government and armed forces. ↩
52 Prohibited within the Austrian Empire but still flown by Hungarian nationalists. ↩
53 Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed. ↩
54 Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Bohemia. Not an official flag, but informally regarded as a Czech national symbol. A white flag with the Bohemian coat of arms was also sometimes used. ↩
55 Flown by the prince and the military. ↩
56 The former royal banner of Poland, no longer official but still used as an informal national symbol. ↩
57 A typical flag flown by Bulgarian nationalists and revolutionaries in the pre-independence period. The flag would sometimes have different inscriptions or colours, but a golden lion on green was a common element. The slogan here reads "Freedom or Death!" ↩
58 The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom. ↩
59 The raja's flag was rectangular ↩
60 Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer. ↩
61 The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower. ↩
62 Mewar had a number of reported princely banners which were also sometimes used as state flags. The most common one had a large yellow sun and a blue katar dagger. ↩
63 Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag. ↩
64 Flag of the maharaja, also used as a state flag. Plain saffron flags were also sometimes flown. ↩
65 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. ↩
66 Allowed to be flown by civilians. ↩
67 Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours. ↩
68 The Raja's flag had a red sun ↩
69 Flown by naval ships. ↩
70 Malay monarchs often flew plain white flags. These standards eventually evolved into individual state flags as more colours and symbols were added. ↩
71 Flown by the sultan and by naval ships. ↩
72 Flown by nobles at sea. ↩
73 Flown by commoner merchants at sea. ↩
74 Flown by the sultan. ↩
75 Flown by the sultan and also used as an unofficial state flag. ↩
76 Flown by the government, particularly at sea, as a way of nominally invoking the protection of the Ottoman Empire. ↩
77 Flown by the sultan and by warships. There are many other reported flags from the era, and it's not clear exactly how they were all used. Merchant ships often flew a plain red flag. ↩
78 Reported flag from this era. It's exact use isn't known. ↩
79 The former flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, which remained in use as an unofficial symbol of the country. ↩
80 An unofficial local flag. The British colony of Newfoundland had no distinctive local symbols. ↩
81 Flown by the government, the navy, the national police, and national sports teams. Raised at major ceremonies. The army uses a similar flag with a different coat of arms. ↩
82 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
83 The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩
84 Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩
85 Flown by Cuban nationalists and revolutionaries who sought independence from Spain. ↩
86 Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩
87 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
88 Flown by the government and armed forces. ↩
89 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩