1914 - World Flag Chart

Sub-Saharan Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Ethiopia

11 red-white stripes, blue canton, white star

Liberia

Congo

Zanzibar

red British ensign, white disc, coat of arms

South Africa

Middle East and North Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Turkey

Tunisia

Egypt

red, yellow crescent, 8-pointed yellow star

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

Kuwait ^{2² There were many variations of this flag, depending on who was flying it and when. Some versions would have added inscriptions, decorations or royal symbols. The flag could also be triangular.}

Bahrain ^{3³ The number of points could vary. Some flags even had a completely straight-edged stripe.}

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.}

Persia

state flag ^{5⁵ Flown by the government, and often by private citizens.}

Persia

national flag ^{6⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Mount Lebanon

green, white shahadah above a white sword

Nejd

Western Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

France

Italy

national flag ^{7⁷ 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 ^{8⁸ Flown by the government and navy.}

Belgium ^{9⁹ Flying the national flag was banned under the German occupation.}

Austria

Imperial colours ^{10¹⁰ The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land.}

Austria

naval flag ^{11¹¹ Flown by navy ships. Direct predecessor of the modern Austrian flag.}

Netherlands

Luxembourg

Germany

Spain

Andorra

Switzerland

Denmark

national flag ^{12¹² Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

red, white nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Denmark

sovereign flag ^{13¹³ 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 ^{14¹⁴ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

red, white-blue nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Norway

state flag ^{15¹⁵ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.}

Sweden ^{16¹⁶ Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military.}

Iceland

Greece

land flag ^{17¹⁷ Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross.}

9 blue-white stripes, blue canton containing a white cross

Greece

sea flag ^{18¹⁸ Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross.}

blue, red-white pinwheel saltire outlined in white, red cross outlined in white

United Kingdom

England

Scotland

Jersey

San Marino

Liechtenstein

princely flag ^{19¹⁹ Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. Blue and red flags were also in use.}

Monaco

national flag ^{20²⁰ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Monaco

princely flag ^{21²¹ Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings.}

Malta

traditional flag ^{22²² Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it.}

red, thick green stripe, yellow armillary sphere, coat of arms

Portugal

Catalonia

Basque Country

Cornwall

Galicia

Corsica

Wales

Ireland

Flanders

Wallonia

Eastern Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

Russia

national flag ^{23²³ Flown for most purposes.}

white-blue-red, yellow canton, black two-headed eagle

Russia

flag for private use ^{24²⁴ A symbol of the Imperial house permitted for use by private citizens. Relatively uncommon, mostly used on decorative or propaganda images.}

Carniola

national colours ^{25²⁵ Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia.}

Slovakia ^{26²⁶ Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag.}

Serbia

national flag ^{27²⁷ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Serbia

state flag ^{28²⁸ Flown the government and armed forces.}

Montenegro

merchant flag ^{29²⁹ Flown by the merchant fleet. The plain Serbian tricolour was also widely flown within in the country.}

Montenegro

royal flag ^{30³⁰ Flown by the king and the government.}

Croatia and Slavonia

Hungary

Bulgaria

Estonia

Romania

Ukraine ^{31³¹ Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed.}

Bohemia

state colours ^{32³² 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 ^{33³³ The former royal banner of Poland, no longer official but still used as an informal national symbol.}

Albania

South Asia and the Indian Ocean
◀︎ ▶︎

green-yellow-red, 8 white flowers, blue Hindi writing, white sun and moon

India ^{34³⁴ 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

orange, two sets of green-white-green-green-white stripes, coat of arms, Urdu inscriptions

Hyderabad

Jammu and Kashmir ^{35³⁵ The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom.}

red double-tailed pennant outlined in green, white moon, white sun

Nepal

red swallowtail with white feet in the top left

Jhabua ^{36³⁶ The raja's flag was rectangular}

Dewas

Kota

princely flag ^{37³⁷ Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer.}

red triangular pennant, thin black stripe

Benares

Sailana ^{38³⁸ The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag.}

two purple triangular pennants, white Hanuman, yellow sun

Ajaigarh ^{39³⁹ The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower.}

purple triangular pennant, yellow sun moon and building

Mewar ^{40⁴⁰ 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 ^{41⁴¹ Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag.}

orange-yellow striped swallowtail pennant

Dhar

Jaipur

Alwar

Idar

Sirohi

Jodhpur

orange, red diagonal band, a yellow sun between two white snakes

Gwalior

Jaisalmer

Nabha

Bikaner

Mysore

Wankaner

Manipur

Charkhari

Banswara

Dholpur

Chhatarpur

Kapurthala

Cambay

Bharatpur

Kochin

pink-blue-pink, wavy yellow line, yellow lantern

Dhrangadhra

Rajpipla

princely flag ^{42⁴² Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag.}

Rajpipla

national flag ^{43⁴³ Allowed to be flown by civilians.}

Indore ^{44⁴⁴ Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours.}

Bhavnagar ^{45⁴⁵ There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it.}

Tonk ^{46⁴⁶ The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand.}

Garhwal ^{47⁴⁷ The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes.}

Suket ^{48⁴⁸ 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.}

green-red striped pennant, white crescent and star, white swords

Kalat

red-yellow-green, black crescent and star

Bahawalpur

Baroda

princely flag ^{49⁴⁹ Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown.}

Kutch

Travancore

red, white image of Hanuman between two gold weapons

Rajgarh

Pratapgarh ^{50⁵⁰ The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white.}

Cooch Behar

Barwani

Porbandar

Sitamau ^{51⁵¹ The Raja's flag had a red sun}

Faridkot

Rewa

princely flag ^{52⁵² Flag of the maharaja's dynasty, used as a state flag.}

Bundi

Jhalawar

Karauli

Orchha

Alirajpur

Khairpur

purple-blue-azure-green-yellow-orange-red, coat of arms

Dungarpur

Baoni

Mandi ^{53⁵³ The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it.}

Kishangarh

Bhopal ^{54⁵⁴ The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it.}

green, black saltire, yellow coat of arms

Jaora

Rampur

Bilaspur

white, yellow wheel surrounded by colourful decorations, ornate border

Sikkim

red, black-white barberpole-striped edge

Maldive Islands

Muslim League ^{55⁵⁵ Flag of the All-India Muslim League, which advocated for Muslim interests within British India. The direct predecessor of the flag of Pakistan.}

East, Central and Southeast Asia
◀︎ ▶︎

Japan

white, red-blue taeguk, four blue trigrams

Korea ^{56⁵⁶ Flown by the Korean independence movement. Banned under Japanese occupation.}

China

ornate yellow field, red outline, emblem, three red streamers adorned with writing

Mongolia

Cambodia

Siam

red, white and gold elephant emblem, French flag

Laos

blue-red, white triangle, yellow sun, three yellow stars

Philippines ^{57⁵⁷ Banned by the American colonial government. The Insular Government of the Philippine Islands had no official flag at this time.}

white-yellow-red-black, white oval, tiger

Federated Malay States

Brunei

Terengganu

yellow, vertically divided black-red cross, yellow crown

Sarawak

Perlis

black, red canton, white crescent and star

Johor

state flag ^{58⁵⁸ Flown by the sultan and on naval ships.}

blue, red canton, white crescent and star

Johor

merchant flag ^{59⁵⁹ Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag.}

Kedah

state flag ^{60⁶⁰ Flown over the sultan's palace and the military.}

Kedah

merchant flag ^{61⁶¹ Flown by merchant ships.}

white, blue border, blue caligraphic lion

Kelantan

Burma ^{62⁶² Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag.}

Oceania
◀︎ ▶︎

blue British ensign, white 7-pointed star and southern cross

Australia

blue British ensign, red southern cross outlined in white

New Zealand

white-red-blue-white-red-blue-white-red, union jack

Hawaiʻi

Tonga

red, white maltese cross, French flag outlined in white

Wallis and Futuna

North America
◀︎ ▶︎

13 red-white stripes, blue canton, 48 white stars

United States

Canada ^{63⁶³ 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 ^{64⁶⁴ Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag.}

white-red, thick blue stripe, white star

Texas

Acadia

blue, white cross, four white fleurs-de-lis, sacred heart

Québec

California

Métis

Latin America
◀︎ ▶︎

green, yellow diamond, blue and white celestial sphere

Brazil

Mexico

Peru

national ensign ^{65⁶⁵ 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 ^{66⁶⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Guatemala

Argentina

Nicaragua

El Salvador

national flag ^{67⁶⁷ The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens.}

El Salvador

inscribed flag ^{68⁶⁸ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices.}

El Salvador

plain flag ^{69⁶⁹ The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens.}

Honduras

Paraguay

front side

Paraguay

back side

Costa Rica

national flag ^{70⁷⁰ 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 ^{71⁷¹ Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens.}

5 red-white stripes, blue triangle, white star

Puerto Rico ^{72⁷² Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule.}

5 blue-white stripes, red triangle, white star

Cuba

9 white-blue stripes, white canton, yellow sun

Uruguay

blue-red, white square containing a coat of arms

Haiti

blue-red quarters, white cross, coat of arms

Dominican Republic

Chile

white-red-white-blue quarters, blue star, red star

Panama

yellow-blue-red, ring of 7 white stars, coat of arms

Venezuela

national ensign ^{73⁷³ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.}

Venezuela

national flag ^{74⁷⁴ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Colombia

Ecuador

Bolivia

state flag ^{75⁷⁵ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms.}

Bolivia

national flag ^{76⁷⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Other International and Cultural Flags
◀︎ ▶︎

blue-yellow-red-white-orange-multicolour

Buddhist Flag

white, two thin blue stripes, blue star of David

Zionist Movement

Arab Nationalist Flag

Esperanto

Red Cross

Red Crescent

Olympic Games

Events of 1914
◀︎ ▶︎

ARAB NATIONALIST FLAG • The Young Arab Society (Al-Fatat) adopted a tricolour flag in 1914. The three stripes were based on the colours used by the Fatimid, Umayyad, and Abbasid dynasties. Those three colours, arranged in a different order, were combined with a Hashemite red triangle in 1917 to form the flag of the Arab Revolt, which served as the basis of many national flags throughout the twentieth century. The Al-Fatat tricolour was revived in 1930 to serve as the basis for flag of Syria.

EGYPT • The British overthrew Khedive Abbas II and instaled Hussein Kamel as Sultan of Egypt on December 19. The Khedive's personal flag, which had served as the de facto Egyptian flag since at least the 1840s, was officially adopted as the new national flag.

KUWAIT • The autonomous Sheikhdom of Kuwait was formally split off from the Ottoman Empire and became a British protectorate on November 3. Initially Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah wanted to keep flying the Turkish flag, but a short while later a British gunboat mistakenly fired on a Kuwaiti vessel in the Gulf. Kuwait was forced to adopt a new flag, red with the name of the state in white.

In practice, there were many different variants of the flag between 1914 and 1961. The flag could be triangular or rectangular. The word could be by itself or next to a stylized falcon's claw, which was the insignia of the royal family. The hoist edge could have a shahada, or a wavy white stripe, or both, or neither. And apparently the usage of these flags was regulated based on who was flying them, where they were being flown, and whether or not it was a special occasion. But the "canonical" version of the pre-independence flag became the simple one show below. That version is still sometimes flown in Kuwait today as a historic patriotic symbol.

OLYMPIC GAMES • The Olympic flag was designed in 1914, although the outbreak of World War I meant it wouldn't be flown at a games until the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.

RUSSIA • On August 12, Russia adopted a new ceremonial flag with the Imperial coat of arms in the top left corner. It would be abandoned a few years later with the fall of the House of Romanov.

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 There were many variations of this flag, depending on who was flying it and when. Some versions would have added inscriptions, decorations or royal symbols. The flag could also be triangular. ↩

³ The number of points could vary. Some flags even had a completely straight-edged stripe. ↩

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 the government, and often by private citizens. ↩

⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁷ 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. ↩

⁸ Flown by the government and navy. ↩

⁹ Flying the national flag was banned under the German occupation. ↩

¹⁰ The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land. ↩

¹¹ Flown by navy ships. Direct predecessor of the modern Austrian flag. ↩

¹² Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹³ Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩

¹⁴ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁵ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩

¹⁶ Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military. ↩

¹⁷ Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩

¹⁸ Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩

¹⁹ Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. Blue and red flags were also in use. ↩

²⁰ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²¹ Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings. ↩

²² Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it. ↩

²³ Flown for most purposes. ↩

²⁴ A symbol of the Imperial house permitted for use by private citizens. Relatively uncommon, mostly used on decorative or propaganda images. ↩

²⁵ Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia. ↩

²⁶ Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag. ↩

²⁷ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²⁸ Flown the government and armed forces. ↩

²⁹ Flown by the merchant fleet. The plain Serbian tricolour was also widely flown within in the country. ↩

³⁰ Flown by the king and the government. ↩

³¹ Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed. ↩

³² 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. ↩

³³ The former royal banner of Poland, no longer official but still used as an informal national symbol. ↩

³⁴ 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. ↩

³⁵ The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom. ↩

³⁶ The raja's flag was rectangular ↩

³⁷ Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer. ↩

³⁸ The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag. ↩

³⁹ The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower. ↩

⁴⁰ 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. ↩

⁴¹ Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag. ↩

⁴² Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. ↩

⁴³ Allowed to be flown by civilians. ↩

⁴⁴ Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours. ↩

⁴⁵ There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it. ↩

⁴⁶ The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand. ↩

⁴⁷ The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes. ↩

⁴⁸ 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. ↩

⁴⁹ Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown. ↩

⁵⁰ The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white. ↩

⁵¹ The Raja's flag had a red sun ↩

⁵² Flag of the maharaja's dynasty, used as a state flag. ↩

⁵³ The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it. ↩

⁵⁴ The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it. ↩

⁵⁵ Flag of the All-India Muslim League, which advocated for Muslim interests within British India. The direct predecessor of the flag of Pakistan. ↩

⁵⁶ Flown by the Korean independence movement. Banned under Japanese occupation. ↩

⁵⁷ Banned by the American colonial government. The Insular Government of the Philippine Islands had no official flag at this time. ↩

⁵⁸ Flown by the sultan and on naval ships. ↩

⁵⁹ Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag. ↩

⁶⁰ Flown over the sultan's palace and the military. ↩

⁶¹ Flown by merchant ships. ↩

⁶² Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag. ↩

⁶³ 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. ↩

⁶⁴ Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. ↩

⁶⁵ 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. ↩

⁶⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁶⁷ The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens. ↩

⁶⁸ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices. ↩

⁶⁹ The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens. ↩

⁷⁰ The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩

⁷¹ Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩

⁷² Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule. ↩

⁷³ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩

⁷⁴ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁷⁵ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩

⁷⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

The World Flag Chart

◀︎ Flags of 1914 ▶︎

Sub-Saharan Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Middle East and North Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Western Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

Eastern Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

South Asia and the Indian Ocean
◀︎ ▶︎

East, Central and Southeast Asia
◀︎ ▶︎

Oceania
◀︎ ▶︎

North America
◀︎ ▶︎

Latin America
◀︎ ▶︎

Other International and Cultural Flags
◀︎ ▶︎

Events of 1914
◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1914◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1914
◀︎ ▶︎