1949 - World Flag Chart

Sub-Saharan Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Ethiopia

royal flag ^{1¹ Often (but not always) flown by the royal house and the government.}

Ethiopia

national flag ^{2² Flown by anyone.}

African National Congress

Gold Coast

CPP flag ^{3³ Flag of the Convention People's Party, which sought independence from Great Britain. Direct predecessor of the flag of Ghana. The colony also had a rarely-used British ensign with an elephant badge.}

orange-white-blue, a cross made up of the Union Jack, Orange Free State, and Transvaal flags

South Africa

11 red-white stripes, blue canton, white star

Liberia

Congo

Buganda

Zanzibar

Middle East and North Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Turkey

Tunisia

Morocco ^{4⁴ 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.}

red, green canton outlined in white, white pentagram

Morocco

Spanish merchant flag ^{5⁵ Flown by merchant ships operating out of the Spanish zone in northern Morocco. The Moroccan national flag was flown on land.}

Algeria ^{6⁶ Flown by nationalists and indepenence activists. The French colony in Algeria did not have an official flag.}

green, white crescent and three white stars

Egypt

Cyrenaica

Palestine

black-white-green, red triangle, white 7-pointed star

Jordan

black-white-green, red trapezoid, two white 7-pointed stars

Iraq

Syria

white, two thin blue stripes, blue star of David

Israel

Lebanon

Iran

state flag ^{7⁷ Flown by the government, and often by private citizens. At sea, and in certain ceremonial settings on land, the ratio was 1:3.}

Iran

national flag ^{8⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. At sea, the ratio was 1:3.}

Saudi Arabia

Kuwait ^{9⁹ 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

Bahrain ^{10¹⁰ The number of points could vary.}

Qatar

Abu Dhabi · Dubai · Ajman · Umm al-Quwain

Ras al-Khaimah · Sharjah · Kalba

red-yellow-blue, three blue-green-blue circles, three gray towers

Qu'aiti State

Kurdistan

purple-white-red, triangle of three white stars in the top-left

Assyrians

Druze

Western Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

France

Italy

Ireland

Andorra

Belgium

East Germany · West Germany

Netherlands

Luxembourg

Austria

national flag ^{11¹¹ Flown by private citizens and municipalities.}

Austria

federal service flag ^{12¹² Flown by the federal government and the armed forces.}

Spain

Switzerland

Denmark

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

red, white nordic cross, swallowtail cut

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.}

red, white-blue nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Norway

state flag ^{16¹⁶ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.}

Iceland

national flag ^{17¹⁷ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

blue, white-red nordic cross, swallowtail cut

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.}

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

Greece

sea flag ^{23²³ 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 · Guernsey

Scotland

Jersey

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.}

Vatican City

Malta

traditional flag ^{26²⁶ Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. Plain flags without the George Cross were also common. The colonial government had a blue ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it.}

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

Portugal

red, white nordic cross, blue quadrants on the left

Saarland

Basque Country

Isle of Man

Trieste

Catalonia

senyera ^{27²⁷ The traditional Catalan flag.}

9 red-yellow stripes, blue triangle, white star

Catalonia

estelada ^{28²⁸ The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence.}

9 black-white stripes, white canton, 11 ermine spots

Brittany

Cornwall

Åland

Galicia

Corsica

Wales

Flanders

Wallonia

Eastern Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

Soviet Union

red, black two-headed eagle, yellow hollow star

Albania

Czechoslovakia

Poland

blue-white-red, red star outlined in yellow

Yugoslavia

Hungary

Bulgaria

Estonia ^{29²⁹ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Estonian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation.}

Lithuania ^{30³⁰ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Lithuanian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation.}

Latvia ^{31³¹ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Latvian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation.}

Romania

South Asia and the Indian Ocean
◀︎ ▶︎

India

green, thick white stripe, white crescent and star

Pakistan

Afghanistan

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

Nepal

Bhutan ^{32³² There was apparently only a single physical version of this flag ever made.}

white, yellow wheel surrounded by colourful decorations, ornate border

Sikkim

maroon, yellow outline, yellow lion, four yellow leaves

Ceylon

red, black-white barberpole-striped edge, green rectangle, white crescent

Maldive Islands

Jammu and Kashmir ^{33³³ Flown in the Indian-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir.}

green, four white stripes, orange canton, white crescent and star

Azad Kashmir ^{34³⁴ Flown in the Pakistan-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir.}

East, Central and Southeast Asia
◀︎ ▶︎

Japan

white, red-blue taeguk surrounded by four black trigrams

South Korea

blue-red-blue, white outlines, white disc, red star

North Korea

China

Democratic Republic of Vietnam

State of Vietnam

white triangle, 12-red-blue wedges, yellow sun, two snow lions, yellow border

Tibet

red-blue-red, yellow soyombo, yellow star

Mongolia

Taiwan ^{35³⁵ The flag of the Republic of China, the government of Taiwan. Banned on the mainland, as the People's Republic of China claimed sovereignty over the island. Regarded as the flag of China at the United Nations.}

Burma

red, three white elephants under an umbrella

Laos

Thailand

Cambodia

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

Philippines

Indonesia

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

Malaya

Brunei

yellow, vertically divided black-red cross, yellow crown

Sarawak ^{36³⁶ Sarawak also had a blue colonial ensign.}

Shan

red-white-blue, thick blue stripe, red sunburst and yellow drum

Karen ^{37³⁷ Flown by Karen nationalists seeking independence and separation from Burma.}

East Turkestan ^{38³⁸ The national flag of the Uyghur people, banned within the People's Republic of China. Xinjiang Province did not have an official 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

Western Samoa

Tonga

red, white maltese cross, French flag outlined in white

Wallis and Futuna

Guam

North America and the Caribbean
◀︎ ▶︎

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

United States

Canada ^{39³⁹ Not legally the national flag, but allowed to be flown wherever a "distinctive Canadian flag" was needed.}

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

Québec

Alaska

white-red, thick blue stripe, white star

Texas

Acadia

white, American eagle flanked on either side by the blue letters

Virgin Islands (U.S.)

California

white, red offset cross, red star, red crescent

Mi’kmaq

Métis

yellow-purple, staff with 11 feathers dangling from it

Papago

Garifuna

Latin America
◀︎ ▶︎

green, yellow diamond, blue and white celestial sphere

Brazil

Mexico

Peru

national ensign ^{40⁴⁰ 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 ^{41⁴¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Guatemala

Argentina

Nicaragua

El Salvador

national flag ^{42⁴² The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens.}

El Salvador

inscribed flag ^{43⁴³ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices.}

El Salvador

plain flag ^{44⁴⁴ The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens.}

Honduras

Paraguay

front side

Paraguay

back side

Costa Rica

national flag ^{45⁴⁵ 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 ^{46⁴⁶ 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 ^{47⁴⁷ 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

Colombia

Ecuador

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

Venezuela

national ensign ^{48⁴⁸ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.}

Venezuela

national flag ^{49⁴⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Bolivia

state flag ^{50⁵⁰ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms.}

Bolivia

national flag ^{51⁵¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Other International and Cultural Flags
◀︎ ▶︎

blue, white map of the world, white wreath

United Nations

blue-yellow-red-white-orange-multicolour

Buddhist Flag

Romani

Pan-African Flag

Esperanto

Red Cross

Red Crescent

Red Lion and Sun

Olympic Games

Events of 1949
◀︎ ▶︎

BHUTAN • Bhutan adopted a flag for the August 8 signing ceremony of the Indo-Bhutanese Treaty of Friendship. It was the last independent country to be flagless for any substantial length of time.

CHINA • The Communist Party took over the mainland and declared the creation of the People's Republic of China on October 1. The Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan on December 7.

CYRENAICA • Cyrenaica adopted a flag on March 1. It would eventually become the basis for the flag of Libya.

GERMANY • West and East Germany were established on May 23 and October 7 respectively. Both states chose the plain black-red-gold tricolour as their national flag.

GOLD COAST • The Convention People's Party was founded on June 12 with the aim of winning the independence of the Gold Coast. The party tricolour was flown around the country by those advocating self-rule and became part of the basis for the national flag of Ghana in 1957.

HONDURAS • The exact positions of the stars were formalized on January 18. The new flag law also specified that the flag should be turquoise, but the dark blue colour ended up staying in use until 2022.

HUNGARY • The national emblem was changed on August 18.

JORDAN • Transjordan was renamed Jordan on April 26.

LAOS • The Lao Issara government-in-exile announced its dissolution on October 14.

QATAR • The flag's design was standardized sometime around this year.

SOUTH KOREA • The trigrams on the flag were rearranged on October 15.

THAILAND • Siam changed its name back to Thailand on May 11.

WESTERN SAMOA • A fifth star was added to the flag on February 24.

Notes

¹ Often (but not always) flown by the royal house and the government. ↩

² Flown by anyone. ↩

³ Flag of the Convention People's Party, which sought independence from Great Britain. Direct predecessor of the flag of Ghana. The colony also had a rarely-used British ensign with an elephant badge. ↩

⁴ 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. ↩

⁵ Flown by merchant ships operating out of the Spanish zone in northern Morocco. The Moroccan national flag was flown on land. ↩

⁶ Flown by nationalists and indepenence activists. The French colony in Algeria did not have an official flag. ↩

⁷ Flown by the government, and often by private citizens. At sea, and in certain ceremonial settings on land, the ratio was 1:3. ↩

⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. At sea, the ratio was 1:3. ↩

⁹ 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. ↩

¹⁰ The number of points could vary. ↩

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. Plain flags without the George Cross were also common. The colonial government had a blue 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 diplomatic service in exile and the Estonian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³⁰ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Lithuanian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³¹ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Latvian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³² There was apparently only a single physical version of this flag ever made. ↩

³³ Flown in the Indian-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir. ↩

³⁴ Flown in the Pakistan-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir. ↩

³⁵ The flag of the Republic of China, the government of Taiwan. Banned on the mainland, as the People's Republic of China claimed sovereignty over the island. Regarded as the flag of China at the United Nations. ↩

³⁶ Sarawak also had a blue colonial ensign. ↩

³⁷ Flown by Karen nationalists seeking independence and separation from Burma. ↩

³⁸ The national flag of the Uyghur people, banned within the People's Republic of China. Xinjiang Province did not have an official flag. ↩

³⁹ Not legally the national flag, but allowed to be flown wherever a "distinctive Canadian flag" was needed. ↩

⁴⁰ 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. ↩

⁴¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁴² The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens. ↩

⁴³ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices. ↩

⁴⁴ The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens. ↩

⁴⁵ The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩

⁴⁶ Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩

⁴⁷ Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule. ↩

⁴⁸ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩

⁴⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁵⁰ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩

⁵¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

The World Flag Chart

◀︎ Flags of 1949 ▶︎

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 and the Caribbean
◀︎ ▶︎

Latin America
◀︎ ▶︎

Other International and Cultural Flags
◀︎ ▶︎

Events of 1949
◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1949◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1949
◀︎ ▶︎