1916 - 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

Muscat and Oman

Hejaz

Kuwait ^{1¹ 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 ^{2² The number of points could vary. Some flags even had a completely straight-edged stripe.}

Qatar

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

green, white shahadah above a white sword

Nejd

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.}

Ireland

Belgium ^{8⁸ Flying the national flag was banned under the German occupation.}

Netherlands

Luxembourg

Germany

Austria

Imperial colours ^{9⁹ The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land.}

Austria

naval flag ^{10¹⁰ Flown by navy ships. Direct predecessor of the modern Austrian flag. By law the flag was also supposed to have the coat of arms of Hungary on it, but flags of this type were never manufactured.}

Spain

Andorra

Denmark

national flag ^{11¹¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

red, white nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Denmark

sovereign flag ^{12¹² 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 ^{13¹³ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

red, white-blue nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Norway

state flag ^{14¹⁴ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.}

Iceland

national flag ^{15¹⁵ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

blue, white-red nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Iceland

state flag ^{16¹⁶ Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships.}

Sweden ^{17¹⁷ Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military.}

Greece

land flag ^{18¹⁸ 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 ^{19¹⁹ Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross.}

Switzerland

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

United Kingdom

England

Scotland

Jersey

San Marino

Liechtenstein

princely flag ^{20²⁰ Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. Blue and red flags were also in use.}

Monaco

national flag ^{21²¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Monaco

princely flag ^{22²² Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings.}

Malta

traditional flag ^{23²³ 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

Flanders

Wallonia

Eastern Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

Russia

national flag ^{24²⁴ Flown for most purposes.}

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

Russia

flag for private use ^{25²⁵ A symbol of the Imperial house permitted for use by private citizens. Relatively uncommon, mostly used on decorative or propaganda images.}

Carniola

national colours ^{26²⁶ Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia.}

Slovakia ^{27²⁷ Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag.}

Serbia

national flag ^{28²⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Serbia

state flag ^{29²⁹ Flown the government and armed forces.}

Montenegro

merchant flag ^{30³⁰ Flown by the merchant fleet. The plain Serbian tricolour was also widely flown within in the country.}

Montenegro

royal flag ^{31³¹ Flown by the king and the government.}

Poland

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.}

Croatia and Slavonia

Hungary

Bulgaria

Estonia

Romania

Ukraine ^{33³³ Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed.}

Bosnia and Herzegovina

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

maroon, yellow outline, yellow lion, four yellow leaves

Sinhalese Flag ^{55⁵⁵ Flown by Sinhalese nationalists in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. There was also an infrequently-used blue British colonial ensign with an elephant badge.}

red, black-white barberpole-striped edge

Maldive Islands

Muslim League ^{56⁵⁶ 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 ^{57⁵⁷ 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

red, white and gold elephant emblem, French flag

Laos

Siam

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

Siam

merchant flag ^{59⁵⁹ Flown by merchant ships.}

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

Philippines ^{60⁶⁰ 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 ^{61⁶¹ Flown by the sultan and on naval ships.}

blue, red canton, white crescent and star

Johor

merchant flag ^{62⁶² Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag.}

Kedah

state flag ^{63⁶³ Flown over the sultan's palace and the military.}

Kedah

merchant flag ^{64⁶⁴ Flown by merchant ships.}

white, blue border, blue caligraphic lion

Kelantan

Burma ^{65⁶⁵ 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 ^{66⁶⁶ 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 ^{67⁶⁷ 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 ^{68⁶⁸ 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 ^{69⁶⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Guatemala

Argentina

Nicaragua

El Salvador

national flag ^{70⁷⁰ The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens.}

El Salvador

inscribed flag ^{71⁷¹ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices.}

El Salvador

plain flag ^{72⁷² The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens.}

Honduras

Paraguay

front side

Paraguay

back side

Costa Rica

national flag ^{73⁷³ 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 ^{74⁷⁴ 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 ^{75⁷⁵ 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 ^{76⁷⁶ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.}

Venezuela

national flag ^{77⁷⁷ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Colombia

Ecuador

Bolivia

state flag ^{78⁷⁸ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms.}

Bolivia

national flag ^{79⁷⁹ 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 1916
◀︎ ▶︎

CHINA • The Republic of China was restored, along with its original flag, on March 22.

HEJAZ • The Kingdom of Hejaz declared independence from the Ottoman empire on June 10. Its first flag, used for less than a year, was plain red.

IRELAND • The Irish tricolour (first designed in 1848) was raised during the Easter Rising on April 24. The rising was put down a few days later, but from then on the tricolour supplanted the harp flag as the preeminent Irish flag. It was flown by the Irish Republic in 1919 and the Irish Free State in 1922, before being put into law in the 1937 Constitution.

MEXICO • Venustiano Carranza issued a decree about the national emblem on September 25, ordering that it should be drawn with the eagle in profile. The new version, with some minor modifications, has lasted until the present day.

POLAND • The modern white-over-red flag was flown at a demonstration in Warsaw on May 6. White and red had been the Polish national colours since 1831, but they were typically used as a cockade and not a flag. Before the First World War, the most common Polish flag was the white eagle. The bicolour was officially adopted on 1 August 1919.

QATAR • Qatar was made a British protectorate on November 3. Owing to their common history, Qatar and Bahrain have always had basically identical flags, but the local dyes used in Qatar tended to come out as a deep maroon instead of a bright red. The distinct shade was eventually codified in 1949.

SIAM • Siam adopted a much simpler civil flag on November 21. The state flag, with added golden regalia, remained in use for the moment. But both flags would be replaced by the modern Thai flag the following year.

Notes

¹ 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. ↩

² The number of points could vary. Some flags even had a completely straight-edged stripe. ↩

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

⁹ The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land. ↩

¹⁰ Flown by navy ships. Direct predecessor of the modern Austrian flag. By law the flag was also supposed to have the coat of arms of Hungary on it, but flags of this type were never manufactured. ↩

¹¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹² Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩

¹³ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁴ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩

¹⁵ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁶ Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships. ↩

¹⁷ Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military. ↩

¹⁸ Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩

¹⁹ Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩

²⁰ Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. Blue and red flags were also in use. ↩

²¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²² Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings. ↩

²³ Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it. ↩

²⁴ Flown for most purposes. ↩

²⁵ A symbol of the Imperial house permitted for use by private citizens. Relatively uncommon, mostly used on decorative or propaganda images. ↩

²⁶ Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia. ↩

²⁷ Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag. ↩

²⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²⁹ Flown the government and armed forces. ↩

³⁰ Flown by the merchant fleet. The plain Serbian tricolour was also widely flown within in the country. ↩

³¹ Flown by the king and the government. ↩

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

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 Flown by Sinhalese nationalists in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. There was also an infrequently-used blue British colonial ensign with an elephant badge. ↩

⁵⁶ Flag of the All-India Muslim League, which advocated for Muslim interests within British India. The direct predecessor of the flag of Pakistan. ↩

⁵⁷ Flown by the Korean independence movement. Banned under Japanese occupation. ↩

⁵⁸ Flown by the government and naval ships. ↩

⁵⁹ Flown by merchant ships. ↩

⁶⁰ Banned by the American colonial government. The Insular Government of the Philippine Islands had no official flag at this time. ↩

⁶¹ Flown by the sultan and on naval ships. ↩

⁶² Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag. ↩

⁶³ Flown over the sultan's palace and the military. ↩

⁶⁴ Flown by merchant ships. ↩

⁶⁵ Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag. ↩

⁶⁶ 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. ↩

⁶⁷ Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. ↩

⁶⁸ 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. ↩

⁶⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁷⁰ The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens. ↩

⁷¹ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices. ↩

⁷² The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens. ↩

⁷³ The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩

⁷⁴ Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩

⁷⁵ Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule. ↩

⁷⁶ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩

⁷⁷ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁷⁸ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩

⁷⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

The World Flag Chart

◀︎ Flags of 1916 ▶︎

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 1916
◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1916◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1916
◀︎ ▶︎