Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethiopia
Liberia
Congo
Zanzibar
South Africa
Middle East and North Africa
Turkey
Tunisia
Egypt
Morocco 11 Moroccan merchant ships in the French zone flew what was called the "Arab ensign", the national flag with a French tricolour added to the top-left corner.
Nejd
ʿAsir
Persia
state flag 22 Flown by the government, and often by private citizens.
Persia
national flag 33 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Hejaz · Iraq · Palestine · Transjordan 44 In Palestine, flown unofficially by the Arab community. Merchant ships flew a red British ensign with a badge that said "PALESTINE". The Jewish community flew the modern flag of Israel.
Syria
Kuwait 55 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.
Yemen
Muscat and Oman · Zanzibar
Bahrain 66 The number of points could vary. Some flags even had a completely straight-edged stripe.
Qatar
Ras al-Khaimah · Sharjah 77 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.
Kurdistan
Eretz-Israel 88 Flown by the Jewish community in the British mandate of Palestine. Direct ancestor of the flag of Israel.
Greater Lebanon
Assyrians
Western Europe
France
Italy
national flag 99 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 1010 Flown by the government and navy.
Ireland
Belgium
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Austria
national flag 1111 Flown by private citizens and municipalities.
Austria
state flag 1212 Flown by the federal government and the armed forces.
Spain
Andorra
Germany
Denmark
national flag 1313 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Denmark
sovereign flag 1414 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 1515 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Norway
state flag 1616 Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.
Iceland
national flag 1717 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Iceland
state flag 1818 Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships.
Sweden 1919 Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military.
Finland
national flag 2020 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Finland
state flag 2121 Flown by the government, border guard, and public universities. The armed forces fly a version with a swallowtail cut.
Faroe Islands
Greece
land flag 2222 Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross.
Greece
sea flag 2323 Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross.
United Kingdom
England
Scotland
Jersey
Switzerland
San Marino
Liechtenstein
Monaco
national flag 2424 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Monaco
princely flag 2525 Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings.
Malta
traditional flag 2626 Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it.
Portugal
Catalonia
senyera 2727 The traditional Catalan flag.
Catalonia
estelada 2828 The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence.
Basque Country
Cornwall
Saar Territory
Galicia
Corsica
Wales
Flanders
Wallonia
Eastern Europe and Western Turkestan
Russia (Soviet) 2929 Flown by the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic during the Russian Civil War.
Byelorussia
Ukraine
Armenia
Georgia
Azerbaijan
Khorezm
Bukhara
Far Eastern Republic
Yugoslavia
merchant flag 3131 Unofficial flag of the merchant fleet.
Czechoslovakia
Poland
Hungary
Bulgaria
Estonia
Lithuania
Latvia
Romania
Albania
Danzig
Karelia 3232 Flown by the breakaway Republic of East Karelia, which aimed for independence from Russia and integration with Finland.
Turkestan
South Asia and the Indian Ocean
India 3333 The Svaraj ("self-rule") flag flown by nationalists and 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 and in the League of Nations.
Afghanistan
Hyderabad
Jammu and Kashmir 3434 The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom.
Nepal
Jhabua 3535 The raja's flag was rectangular
Dewas
Kota
princely flag 3636 Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer.
Benares
Sailana 3737 The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag.
Ajaigarh 3838 The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower.
Mewar 3939 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 4040 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
Dhrangadhra
Rajpipla
princely flag 4141 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag.
Rajpipla
national flag 4242 Allowed to be flown by civilians.
Indore 4343 Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours.
Bhavnagar 4444 There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it.
Tonk 4545 The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand.
Garhwal 4646 The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes.
Suket 4747 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 4848 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown. There was a red colonial British ensign with a scimitar and horseman badge.
Kutch 4949 There was also a red British colonial ensign with a white sun and moon badge.
Travancore 5050 There was also a red British colonial ensign with a white shell badge.
Rajgarh
Pratapgarh 5151 The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white.
Cooch Behar
Barwani
Porbandar 5252 There was also a red British colonial ensign with a white Hanuman badge.
Sitamau 5353 The Raja's flag had a red sun
Faridkot
Rewa
princely flag 5454 Flag of the maharaja's dynasty, used as a state flag.
Bundi
Jhalawar
Karauli
Orchha
Alirajpur
Khairpur
Dungarpur
Baoni
Mandi 5555 The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it.
Kishangarh
Bhopal 5656 The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it.
Jaora
Rampur
Bilaspur
Sikkim
Sinhalese Flag 5757 Flown by Sinhalese nationalists in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. There was also an infrequently-used blue British colonial ensign with an elephant badge.
Maldive Islands
Muslim League 5858 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
Korea 5959 Flown by the Korean independence movement and the unrecognized government-in-exile based in China. Banned under Japanese occupation.
China
Beiyang flag 6060 Flown by the Beiyang government in Beijing, which controlled Northern China.
China
Nationalist flag 6161 Flown by the Nationalist government in Guangzhou, which controlled Southern China.
Tibet
Mongolia
Tannu Tuva
Cambodia
Laos
Siam
Philippines
Federated Malay States
Brunei
Terengganu
Sarawak
Perlis
Johor
state flag 6262 Flown by the sultan and on naval ships.
Johor
merchant flag 6363 Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag.
Kedah
state flag 6464 Flown over the sultan's palace and the military.
Kedah
merchant flag 6565 Flown by merchant ships.
Annam 6666 There was also a colonial "protectorate flag" which was plain yellow with a French tricolour in the top left corner.
Kelantan
Burma 6767 Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag.
Oceania
Australia
New Zealand
Hawaiʻi
Tonga
Wallis and Futuna
Guam
North America and the Caribbean
United States
Canada 6868 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 6969 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag.
Texas
Acadia
Québec
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
California
Métis
Latin America
Brazil
Mexico
Peru
national ensign 7070 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 7171 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Guatemala
Argentina
Nicaragua
El Salvador
national flag 7272 The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens.
El Salvador
inscribed flag 7373 An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices.
El Salvador
plain flag 7474 The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens.
Honduras
Paraguay
front side
Paraguay
back side
Costa Rica
national flag 7575 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 7676 Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens.
Puerto Rico 7777 Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule.
Cuba
Uruguay
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Chile
Panama
Venezuela
national ensign 7878 Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.
Venezuela
national flag 7979 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Colombia
Ecuador
Bolivia
state flag 8080 Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms.
Bolivia
national flag 8181 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Other International and Cultural Flags
Buddhist Flag
Pan-African Flag
Esperanto
Red Cross
Red Crescent
Olympic Games
Events of 1921
ARABIA • The Rashidi Emirate of Jebel Shammar was conquered by the House of Saud and annxed to Nejd on November 2.
CHINA • Sun Yat-sen established a military government in Guangzhou and adopted the Kuomintang's Blue Sky White Sun flag as a national flag on May 5. It served as the flag of several successive southern regimes, and then in 1928 became the flag of all of China. It would subsequently become the flag of Taiwan in 1949 when the Nationalist regime was forced to flee the Mainland.
INDIA • A national flag for India designed by Pingali Venkayya was put forward by Mahatma Gandhi in April 1921.
LIECHTENSTEIN • Liechtenstein adopted a new flag on October 5 based on its livery colours.
HASHEMITE DYNASTY • The Emirate of Transjordan was established on April 11 under the Arab Revolt flag. On August 23 the new Kingdom of Iraq also adopted the Arab Revolt flag.
RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR • The Peace of Riga was signed on March 18, establishing the borders between Poland and what was soon to become the Soviet Union. The treaty undid the 1920 Treaty of Warsaw, in which Poland had agreed to support the anti-Soviet government of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The exiled Ukrainian People's Army launched one last failed campaign against the Soviets in October.
The Mountain Republic was taken over by the Red Army and annexed to Russia on January 20.
Russia occupied Georgia and established the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic on February 25.
Soviet Azerbaijan adopted a new flag on May 19.
The Basmachi movement, which aimed to win the independence of Turkestan from Russia, adopted a flag in September.
The notorious White Army general Baron Ungern re-established the independence of Mongolia on February 15. Later that year the Red Army, backed by local revolutionaries, captured and executed the Mad Baron and established a Provisional People's Government. The old royal flag remained in use as a courtesy to the Bogd Khaan until 1924.
On August 14, the Uriankhai territory, a nominal Russian protectorate fully controlled by the Soviets, declared independence as Tannu Tuva. Modern images of flags from this period are all speculative reconstructions.
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS • The Virgin Islands adopted a flag on May 17.
Notes
1 Moroccan merchant ships in the French zone flew what was called the "Arab ensign", the national flag with a French tricolour added to the top-left corner. ↩
2 Flown by the government, and often by private citizens. ↩
3 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
4 In Palestine, flown unofficially by the Arab community. Merchant ships flew a red British ensign with a badge that said "PALESTINE". The Jewish community flew the modern flag of Israel. ↩
5 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. ↩
6 The number of points could vary. Some flags even had a completely straight-edged stripe. ↩
7 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. ↩
8 Flown by the Jewish community in the British mandate of Palestine. Direct ancestor of the flag of Israel. ↩
9 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. ↩
10 Flown by the government and navy. ↩
11 Flown by private citizens and municipalities. ↩
12 Flown by the federal government and the armed forces. ↩
13 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
14 Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩
15 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
16 Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩
17 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
18 Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships. ↩
19 Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military. ↩
20 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
21 Flown by the government, border guard, and public universities. The armed forces fly a version with a swallowtail cut. ↩
22 Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩
23 Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩
24 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
25 Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings. ↩
26 Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it. ↩
27 The traditional Catalan flag. ↩
28 The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence. ↩
29 Flown by the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic during the Russian Civil War. ↩
30 Flown in territories under control of the anti-Soviet White Army. ↩
31 Unofficial flag of the merchant fleet. ↩
32 Flown by the breakaway Republic of East Karelia, which aimed for independence from Russia and integration with Finland. ↩
33 The Svaraj ("self-rule") flag flown by nationalists and 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 and in the League of Nations. ↩
34 The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom. ↩
35 The raja's flag was rectangular ↩
36 Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer. ↩
37 The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag. ↩
38 The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower. ↩
39 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. ↩
40 Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag. ↩
41 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. ↩
42 Allowed to be flown by civilians. ↩
43 Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours. ↩
44 There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it. ↩
45 The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand. ↩
46 The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes. ↩
47 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. ↩
48 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown. There was a red colonial British ensign with a scimitar and horseman badge. ↩
49 There was also a red British colonial ensign with a white sun and moon badge. ↩
50 There was also a red British colonial ensign with a white shell badge. ↩
51 The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white. ↩
52 There was also a red British colonial ensign with a white Hanuman badge. ↩
53 The Raja's flag had a red sun ↩
54 Flag of the maharaja's dynasty, used as a state flag. ↩
55 The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it. ↩
56 The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it. ↩
57 Flown by Sinhalese nationalists in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. There was also an infrequently-used blue British colonial ensign with an elephant badge. ↩
58 Flag of the All-India Muslim League, which advocated for Muslim interests within British India. The direct predecessor of the flag of Pakistan. ↩
59 Flown by the Korean independence movement and the unrecognized government-in-exile based in China. Banned under Japanese occupation. ↩
60 Flown by the Beiyang government in Beijing, which controlled Northern China. ↩
61 Flown by the Nationalist government in Guangzhou, which controlled Southern China. ↩
62 Flown by the sultan and on naval ships. ↩
63 Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag. ↩
64 Flown over the sultan's palace and the military. ↩
65 Flown by merchant ships. ↩
66 There was also a colonial "protectorate flag" which was plain yellow with a French tricolour in the top left corner. ↩
67 Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag. ↩
68 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. ↩
69 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. ↩
70 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. ↩
71 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
72 The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens. ↩
73 An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices. ↩
74 The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens. ↩
75 The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩
76 Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩
77 Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule. ↩
78 Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩
79 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
80 Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩
81 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩