Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethiopia
Liberia
Congo
Zanzibar
Futa Jallon
Middle East and North Africa
Turkey
Tunisia
Egypt
Jebel Shammar
Morocco 11 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 · Bahrain 22 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 33 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.
Persia
state flag 44 Flown by the government, and often by private citizens.
Persia
national flag 55 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Mount Lebanon
Nejd
Tripoli
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
Austria
Imperial colours 88 The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land.
Austria
naval flag 99 Flown by navy ships. Direct predecessor of the modern Austrian flag.
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Germany
Spain
Andorra
Switzerland
Denmark
national flag 1010 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Denmark
sovereign flag 1111 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 1212 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Norway
state flag 1313 Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.
Sweden 1414 Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military.
Iceland
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
Liechtenstein
princely flag 1717 Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. Blue and red flags were also in use.
Monaco
national flag 1818 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Monaco
princely flag 1919 Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings.
Portugal
Malta
traditional flag 2020 Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it.
Catalonia
Basque Country
Cornwall
Galicia
Corsica
Wales
Ireland
Flanders
Eastern Europe
Russia
Carniola
national colours 2121 Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia.
Slovakia 2222 Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag.
Croatia and Slavonia
Serbia
national flag 2323 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Serbia
state flag 2424 Flown the government and armed forces.
Montenegro
merchant flag 2525 Flown by the merchant fleet. The plain Serbian tricolour was also widely flown within in the country.
Montenegro
royal flag 2626 Flown by the king and the government.
Hungary
Bulgaria
Estonia
Romania
Ukraine 2727 Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed.
Bohemia
state colours 2828 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.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Poland
banner 2929 The former royal banner of Poland, no longer official but still used as an informal national symbol.
Albania 3030 A typical flag flown by Albanian nationalists. The exact design of the eagle was not fixed.
South Asia and the Indian Ocean
India 3131 The "Calcutta flag" flown by independence activists. British India had several colonial flags. A red civil ensign with the Star of India medal on it was used to represent India at international sporting events.
Afghanistan
Hyderabad
Jammu and Kashmir 3232 The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom.
Nepal
Jhabua 3333 The raja's flag was rectangular
Dewas
Kota
princely flag 3434 Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer.
Sailana 3535 The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag.
Ajaigarh 3636 The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower.
Mewar 3737 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.
Kolhapur 3838 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
Jaisalmer
Nabha
Bikaner
Mysore
Wankaner
Manipur
Charkhari
Banswara
Dholpur
Chhatarpur
Kapurthala
Cambay
Bharatpur
Kochin
Rajpipla
princely flag 3939 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag.
Rajpipla
national flag 4040 Allowed to be flown by civilians.
Indore 4141 Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours.
Bhavnagar 4242 There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it.
Tonk 4343 The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand.
Garhwal 4444 The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes.
Suket 4545 The raja's flag had a gold tiger head in the middle. The war flag was a red flag with the state coat of arms on it.
Kalat
Bahawalpur
Baroda
princely flag 4646 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown.
Kutch
Travancore
Rajgarh
Pratapgarh 4747 The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white.
Cooch Behar
Barwani
Porbandar
Sitamau 4848 The Raja's flag had a red sun
Faridkot
Rewa
princely flag 4949 Flag of the maharaja's dynasty, used as a state flag.
Bundi
Karauli
Orchha
Alirajpur
Khairpur
Dungarpur
Baoni
Mandi 5050 The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it.
Kishangarh
Bhopal 5151 The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it.
Jaora
Rampur
Bilaspur
Sikkim
Maldive Islands
Muslim League 5252 Flag of the All-India Muslim League, which advocated for Muslim interests within British India. The direct predecessor of the flag of Pakistan.
East and Southeast Asia
Japan
Korea 5353 Flown by the Korean independence movement. Banned under Japanese occupation.
China 5454 Flown by the government and by naval ships. The merchant flag was red with a yellow circle containing a blue dragon.
Cambodia
Siam
Laos
Philippines 5555 Banned by the American colonial government. The Insular Government of the Philippine Islands had no official flag at this time.
Federated Malay States
Brunei
Sarawak
Perlis
Johor
state flag 5656 Flown by the sultan and on naval ships.
Johor
merchant flag 5757 Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag.
Moro 5858 A typical example of a Moro battle flag. No two were exactly alike, but they all looked roughly like this. Sometimes the daggers were crossed, or the crescent and star was replaced by a white and blue emblem.
Kedah
Kelantan · Terengganu 5959 Malay monarchs often flew plain white flags. These standards eventually evolved into individual state flags as more colours and symbols were added.
Burma 6060 Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag.
Oceania
Australia
New Zealand
Hawaiʻi
Tonga
Wallis and Futuna
North America
United States
Canada 6161 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. The badge was only supposed to have the arms of the original four provinces, but the nine-province version was much more common. It was also often placed on a white disc, or adorned with wreath of maple leaves and a crown.
Newfoundland 6262 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag.
Texas
Acadia
Québec
Métis
Latin America
Brazil
Mexico
Peru
national ensign 6363 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 6464 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Guatemala
Argentina
Nicaragua
Honduras
Costa Rica
national flag 6565 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 6666 Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens.
Puerto Rico 6767 Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule.
Cuba
Salvador
Uruguay
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Chile
Panama
Paraguay
front side
Paraguay
back side
Venezuela
national ensign 6868 Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.
Venezuela
national flag 6969 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Colombia
Ecuador
Bolivia
state flag 7070 Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms.
Bolivia
national flag 7171 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Other International and Cultural Flags
Buddhist Flag
Zionist Movement
Arab Nationalist Flag
Esperanto
Red Cross
Red Crescent
Events of 1909
ARAB NATIONALIST FLAG • The Literary Club (al-Muntada al-Adabi), a clandestine Arab nationalist organization based in Constantinople with thousands of members throughout Syria and Iraq, adopted the first flag to use the pan-Arab colours in 1909. The four stripes came from a poem by the 14th-century Iraqi poet Safi al-Din al-Hilli: "White are our acts, black our battles, green our fields, and red our swords."
Notes
1 Flown over the palace in Rabat and on ships. Military flags on land were often dectorated with a yellow or green octagram. ↩
2 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. ↩
3 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. ↩
4 Flown by the government, and often by private citizens. ↩
5 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
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 The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land. ↩
9 Flown by navy ships. Direct predecessor of the modern Austrian flag. ↩
10 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
11 Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩
12 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
13 Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩
14 Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown 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 by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. Blue and red flags were also in use. ↩
18 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
19 Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings. ↩
20 Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it. ↩
21 Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia. ↩
22 Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag. ↩
23 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
24 Flown the government and armed forces. ↩
25 Flown by the merchant fleet. The plain Serbian tricolour was also widely flown within in the country. ↩
26 Flown by the king and the government. ↩
27 Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed. ↩
28 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. ↩
29 The former royal banner of Poland, no longer official but still used as an informal national symbol. ↩
30 A typical flag flown by Albanian nationalists. The exact design of the eagle was not fixed. ↩
31 The "Calcutta flag" flown by independence activists. British India had several colonial flags. A red civil ensign with the Star of India medal on it was used to represent India at international sporting events. ↩
32 The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom. ↩
33 The raja's flag was rectangular ↩
34 Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer. ↩
35 The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag. ↩
36 The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower. ↩
37 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. ↩
38 Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag. ↩
39 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. ↩
40 Allowed to be flown by civilians. ↩
41 Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours. ↩
42 There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it. ↩
43 The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand. ↩
44 The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes. ↩
45 The raja's flag had a gold tiger head in the middle. The war flag was a red flag with the state coat of arms on it. ↩
46 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown. ↩
47 The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white. ↩
48 The Raja's flag had a red sun ↩
49 Flag of the maharaja's dynasty, used as a state flag. ↩
50 The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it. ↩
51 The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it. ↩
52 Flag of the All-India Muslim League, which advocated for Muslim interests within British India. The direct predecessor of the flag of Pakistan. ↩
53 Flown by the Korean independence movement. Banned under Japanese occupation. ↩
54 Flown by the government and by naval ships. The merchant flag was red with a yellow circle containing a blue dragon. ↩
55 Banned by the American colonial government. The Insular Government of the Philippine Islands had no official flag at this time. ↩
56 Flown by the sultan and on naval ships. ↩
57 Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag. ↩
58 A typical example of a Moro battle flag. No two were exactly alike, but they all looked roughly like this. Sometimes the daggers were crossed, or the crescent and star was replaced by a white and blue emblem. ↩
59 Malay monarchs often flew plain white flags. These standards eventually evolved into individual state flags as more colours and symbols were added. ↩
60 Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag. ↩
61 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. The badge was only supposed to have the arms of the original four provinces, but the nine-province version was much more common. It was also often placed on a white disc, or adorned with wreath of maple leaves and a crown. ↩
62 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. ↩
63 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. ↩
64 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
65 The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩
66 Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩
67 Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule. ↩
68 Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩
69 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
70 Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩
71 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩