1976 - World Flag Chart

Sub-Saharan Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Ethiopia

national flag ^{1¹ Flown by anyone.}

Ethiopia

state flag ^{2² Occasionally flown by the government.}

Ghana

Rwanda

Guinea

Mali

Senegal

Cameroon

Chad

Nigeria

Ivory Coast

Niger

Upper Volta

Sierra Leone

Gabon

yellow-green, thick red stripe, black star

Guinea-Bissau

yellow-green, thick red stripe, black star and wreath

Cape Verde

Madagascar

Angola

Congo

Malawi

black-red-green, white outlines, shield and spears emblem

Kenya

African National Congress

diagonal green-black-blue, yellow outlines

Tanzania

yellow-black-red-green rays, outlined in white, radiating from the top-left

Mozambique

Benin

green, orange eagle, three short red-black-orange stripes

Zambia

green, yellow disc, hand holding a torch

Zaire

green-yellow-green, two black stars, red triangle

São Tomé and Príncipe

four concentric green-yellow-red-black boxes

Zimbabwe

ZANU flag ^{3³ Flag of the Zimbabwe African National Union, which sought majority rule in the breakaway British colony of Rhodesia. The territory's illegal white supremacist government flew a green and white flag with the Rhodesian coat of arms.}

Zimbabwe

ZAPU flag ^{4⁴ Flag of the Zimbabwe African People's Union, a competing liberation movement.}

6 red-yellow-black stripes, white circle, crane

Uganda

5 green-yellow stripes, red canton, white star

Togo

11 red-white stripes, blue canton, white star

Liberia

green-red triangles, white saltire, white circle, 3 red 6-pointed stars outlined in green

Burundi

green-white-red, blue triangle, coat of arms

Equatorial Guinea

The Gambia

Botswana

blue-red-blue, yellow outlines, shield and spear

Swaziland

Namibia

SWAPO flag ^{5⁵ Flag of the South West Africa People's Organisation, which sought independence from South Africa. Direct predecessor of the flag of Namibia. The territorial government did not have an official flag.}

Lesotho

blue-white-green-yellow, thin red stripe, yellow star

Central African Empire

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

South Africa

Somalia

Eritrea

ELF flag ^{6⁶ Flag of the Eritrean Liberation Front, which sought independence from Ethiopia. Derived from the previous national flag. The provincial government did not have an official flag.}

Somali Coast

FLCS flag ^{7⁷ Flag of the Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast, which sought indepdence from France. Eventually became the flag of Djibouti. The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas did not have an official flag.}

red-green-red, yellow sunburst, green tree, red star

Oromia

OLF flag ^{8⁸ Flag of the Oromo Liberation Front, a nationalist liberation movement within Ethiopia. Oromia did not have an official flag within Ethiopia at this time.}

Tigray

TPLF flag ^{9⁹ Flag of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, a nationalist liberation movement within Ethiopia. Direct predecessor of the modern regional flag. Tigray did not have an official flag within Ethiopia at this time.}

Middle East and North Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Turkey

Tunisia

Morocco

Algeria

Mauritania

Palestine

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

Jordan

black-white-green, red triangle, red crescent and star

Western Sahara

Polisario flag ^{10¹⁰ Flown by the Polisario Front and the unrecognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which claims to be the rightful government of the disputed Western Sahara. Most of the territory is occupied by Morocco.}

United Arab Emirates

Kuwait

Sudan

Egypt · Libya · Syria ^{11¹¹ Flown by the Federation of Arab Republics. Its member states sometimes distinguished their flags by adding their country's name in small gold writing below the emblem.}

Iraq

North Yemen

red-white-black, blue triangle, red star

South Yemen

white, two thin blue stripes, blue star of David

Israel

Cyprus

Lebanon

Iran

state flag ^{12¹² Flown by the government, and often by private citizens. In certain ceremonial settings, the ratio was 1:3.}

Iran

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

white-red-green, thick red stripe, white emblem

Oman

Bahrain

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Kurdistan

Druze

white, wavy red-white-blue saltire, azure-orange 4-pointed star, gold image of Assur

Assyrians

Western Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

France

Italy

Ireland

Andorra

Belgium

Netherlands

Luxembourg

Austria

national flag ^{14¹⁴ Flown by private citizens and municipalities.}

Austria

federal service flag ^{15¹⁵ Flown by the federal government and the armed forces.}

Spain

West Germany

East Germany

Switzerland

Denmark

national flag ^{16¹⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

red, white nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Denmark

sovereign flag ^{17¹⁷ 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 ^{18¹⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

red, white-blue nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Norway

state flag ^{19¹⁹ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.}

Faroe Islands

Iceland

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

blue, white-red nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Iceland

state flag ^{21²¹ Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships.}

Åland

Sweden ^{22²² Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military.}

Finland

national flag ^{23²³ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Finland

state flag ^{24²⁴ Flown by the government, border guard, and public universities. The armed forces fly a version with a swallowtail cut.}

Greece

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

United Kingdom

England · Guernsey

white, red cross, white 6-pointed star, red hand, crown

Northern Ireland

Ulster banner ^{25²⁵ Northen Ireland has not had an official flag since 1973, but the Ulster Banner is still flown by some sporting teams and private citizens. More or less exclusively a unionist symbol. Nationalists tend to fly the Irish tricolour instead.}

Scotland

Jersey

Wales

San Marino

Liechtenstein

Monaco

national flag ^{26²⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Monaco

princely flag ^{27²⁷ Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings.}

white, red castle, red stripe, yellow key

Gibraltar

Vatican City

Malta

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

Portugal

Canary Islands

Galicia

Catalonia

senyera ^{28²⁸ The traditional Catalan flag.}

9 red-yellow stripes, blue triangle, white star

Catalonia

estelada ^{29²⁹ The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence.}

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

Brittany

Cornwall

Corsica

Flanders

Wallonia

Isle of Man

Basque Country

Eastern Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

Soviet Union

red, black two-headed eagle, yellow hollow star

Albania

Czechoslovakia

Poland

state flag ^{30³⁰ Flown over the Presidential Palace, parliament, provincial legislatures, and other government buildings. Private use highly restricted.}

Poland

coat of arms flag ^{31³¹ Flown by embassies, airports, and merchant ships. Private use strictly banned.}

blue-white-red, red star outlined in yellow

Yugoslavia

Hungary

Bulgaria

Estonia ^{32³² Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Estonian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation.}

Lithuania ^{33³³ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Lithuanian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation.}

Latvia ^{34³⁴ 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

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

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

Nepal

Bhutan

yellow, orange and green vertical bars, maroon rectangle, yellow lion, yellow leaves

Sri Lanka

green, thick red outline, white crescent

Maldives

red, green stripe, white crescent, four white stars

Comoros

Mauritius

thin white saltire surrounded by red and blue

Seychelles

Jammu and Kashmir ^{36³⁶ Flown in the Indian-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir.}

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

Azad Kashmir ^{37³⁷ Flown in the Pakistan-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir.}

blue, white 6-pointed star, red-yellow-green striped-arc

Nagaland ^{38³⁸ Flown by nationalists and separatists. The Indian state of Nagaland does not have an official flag.}

Kannada ^{39³⁹ The popular but unofficial flag of the Kannada people. The Indian state of Karnataka does not have an official flag.}

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

Vietnam

Kampuchea

China

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

Tibet

red-blue-red, yellow soyombo, yellow star

Mongolia

Taiwan ^{40⁴⁰ 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.}

red, blue canton, white gear and wheat emblem, 14 white stars

Burma

Thailand

Laos

14 red-white stripes, blue canton, yellow crescent and 14-point star

Malaysia

Indonesia

red-white, white crescent, 5 white stars

Singapore

Sarawak

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

Philippines

red, yellow triangle, smaller black triangle, white star

East Timor ^{41⁴¹ Flown by nationalists seeking the indpenedence of Timor-Leste. Under Indonesian occupation, flying the flag was illegal. The rarely-used official flag of "Timor Timur" was orange with the provincial seal in the middle.}

yellow, diagonal white-black stripes, red emblem

Brunei

Shan

red-white-yellow-blue, green canton, brown mountain

Sabah

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

Karen ^{42⁴² Flown by Karen nationalists seeking independence and separation from Burma.}

East Turkestan ^{43⁴³ The national flag of the Uyghur people, banned within the People's Republic of China. Xinjiang Region does not have an official flag.}

azure, abstract red arrow piercing a white cloud

Ainu

Oceania
◀︎ ▶︎

diagonal black-red, white southern cross, yellow bird of paradise

Papua New Guinea

Aboriginal Australians

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

Fiji

yellow British ensign, five yellow stars on the Union Jack

Niue

blue, thin yellow stripe, white 12-pointed star

Nauru

Cook Islands

Micronesia

Western Samoa

Tonga

red, white maltese cross, French flag outlined in white

Wallis and Futuna

Tahiti

Northern Mariana Islands

Guam

blue, white triangle outlined in red, American eagle holding a gold fly-whisk and club

American Samoa

blue, red headdress, black circle surrounded by green and white triangles

Bougainville ^{44⁴⁴ Flown unofficially within the province but frowned upon by the national government.}

North America
◀︎ ▶︎

Canada

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

United States

Bermuda

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

Québec

Alaska

white-red, thick blue stripe, white star

Texas

Acadia

California

Cherokee

white, red offset cross, red star, red crescent

Mi’kmaq

Métis

Northern Cheyenne

Oglala Lakota

red-white-black-white-black-white-red, white triangle outlined in black, red-black circle

Arapaho

blue, saltire of red and white chevrons, tribal seal

Seminole

tan, seal on a map, four black-white-blue-yellow mountains, rainbow

Navajo

yellow-purple, staff with 11 feathers dangling from it

Papago

green-white-blue-white-green, snowshoe and antlers

Innu

The Caribbean
◀︎ ▶︎

Jamaica

red, diagonal black stripe outlined in white

Trinidad and Tobago

black-blue-white, red triangles, yellow sunrise

Antigua

green, yellow triangle outlined in white, smaller red triangle outlined in black

Guyana

green-yellow triangles, red border, red disc, yellow star, nutmeg, six yellow stars

Grenada

Guyane

green-white-red-white-green, yellow star

Suriname

Martinique ^{45⁴⁵ An unofficial flag flown by Martinican nationalists and occasionally by local municipalities.}

The Bahamas

blue, two thin yellow stripes, red 4-pointed star outlined in white

Aruba

blue, black triangle outlined in white, shorter yellow triangle

Saint Lucia

Barbados

Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla

white, thin red stripe, thin blue band, ring of 6 stars

Netherlands Antilles

white, blue stripe, three orange dolphins

Anguilla ^{46⁴⁶ The unofficial but popular cultural flag of the island.}

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

Virgin Islands (U.S.)

Belize

Dominica

Saint Vincent

Garifuna

Latin America
◀︎ ▶︎

green, yellow diamond, blue and white celestial sphere

Brazil

Mexico

Peru

national ensign ^{47⁴⁷ 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 ^{48⁴⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Guatemala

Argentina

Honduras

Nicaragua

El Salvador

national flag ^{49⁴⁹ The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens.}

El Salvador

inscribed flag ^{50⁵⁰ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices.}

El Salvador

plain flag ^{51⁵¹ The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens.}

Paraguay

front side

Paraguay

back side

Costa Rica

national flag ^{52⁵² 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 ^{53⁵³ 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

5 blue-white stripes, red triangle, white star

Cuba

9 white-blue stripes, white canton, yellow sun

Uruguay

national flag ^{54⁵⁴ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Uruguay

flag of Artigas ^{55⁵⁵ A traditional military emblem, ceremonially flown alongside the national flag at government buildings.}

Uruguay

flag of the Treinta y Tres ^{56⁵⁶ A historic flag, ceremonially flown alongside the national flag at government buildings.}

blue-red quarters, white cross, coat of arms

Dominican Republic

Chile

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

Panama

blue-red, white square containing a coat of arms

Haiti

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

Venezuela

national ensign ^{57⁵⁷ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.}

Venezuela

national flag ^{58⁵⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Colombia

Ecuador

Bolivia

state flag ^{59⁵⁹ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms.}

Bolivia

national flag ^{60⁶⁰ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

7-by-7 grid of coloured squares, diagonally arranged white-green-blue-purple-red-orange-yellow

Aymara

red-orange-yellow-green-azure-blue-purple

Quechua

Other International and Cultural Flags
◀︎ ▶︎

blue, white map of the world, white wreath

United Nations

Europe

green-white-green, yellow outlines, emblem

Organization of African Unity

blue, yellow globe surrounded by rays in the shape of a C

Commonwealth of Nations

blue-yellow-red-white-orange-multicolour

Buddhist Flag

Romani

Pan-African Flag

red, yellow sunburst, Mohawk warrior head

Warrior Flag

Esperanto

Red Cross

Red Crescent

Red Lion and Sun

Olympic Games

Events of 1976
◀︎ ▶︎

ARUBA • The flag was adopted on March 18.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC • Sometime around Semptember, President Jean-Bédel Bokassa considered adopting a distinctly Islamic flag as part of a strategy of winning economic support from Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. The plan fell through, and on December 4, Bokassa crowned himself emperor and declared that the country was now named the Central African Empire.

1976 proposed flag of the Central African Republic

COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS • The Commonwealth, an international organization composed mostly of the former British Empire, adopted a flag on March 26.

INNU • The Naskapi Montagnais Innu Association, a First Nation in Canada later known as the Innu Nation, was founded in 1976. The Innu flag was adopted around this time. It was first flown at court hearings where Innu were being charged with violating game law while following their traditional hunting practices. The flag depicts a snowshoe between two sets of antlers.

KAMPUCHEA • The state of Democratic Kampuchea was officially established under a new flag.

SEYCHELLES • The Seychelles became independent from the United Kingdom on June 29.

VIETNAM • The two halves of the country were officially unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2. The North's flag was confirmed as the sole national flag.

Notes

¹ Flown by anyone. ↩

² Occasionally flown by the government. ↩

³ Flag of the Zimbabwe African National Union, which sought majority rule in the breakaway British colony of Rhodesia. The territory's illegal white supremacist government flew a green and white flag with the Rhodesian coat of arms. ↩

⁴ Flag of the Zimbabwe African People's Union, a competing liberation movement. ↩

⁵ Flag of the South West Africa People's Organisation, which sought independence from South Africa. Direct predecessor of the flag of Namibia. The territorial government did not have an official flag. ↩

⁶ Flag of the Eritrean Liberation Front, which sought independence from Ethiopia. Derived from the previous national flag. The provincial government did not have an official flag. ↩

⁷ Flag of the Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast, which sought indepdence from France. Eventually became the flag of Djibouti. The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas did not have an official flag. ↩

⁸ Flag of the Oromo Liberation Front, a nationalist liberation movement within Ethiopia. Oromia did not have an official flag within Ethiopia at this time. ↩

⁹ Flag of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, a nationalist liberation movement within Ethiopia. Direct predecessor of the modern regional flag. Tigray did not have an official flag within Ethiopia at this time. ↩

¹⁰ Flown by the Polisario Front and the unrecognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which claims to be the rightful government of the disputed Western Sahara. Most of the territory is occupied by Morocco. ↩

¹¹ Flown by the Federation of Arab Republics. Its member states sometimes distinguished their flags by adding their country's name in small gold writing below the emblem. ↩

¹² Flown by the government, and often by private citizens. In certain ceremonial settings, the ratio was 1:3. ↩

¹³ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁴ Flown by private citizens and municipalities. ↩

¹⁵ Flown by the federal government and the armed forces. ↩

¹⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁷ Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩

¹⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁹ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩

²⁰ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²¹ Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships. ↩

²² Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military. ↩

²³ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²⁴ Flown by the government, border guard, and public universities. The armed forces fly a version with a swallowtail cut. ↩

²⁵ Northen Ireland has not had an official flag since 1973, but the Ulster Banner is still flown by some sporting teams and private citizens. More or less exclusively a unionist symbol. Nationalists tend to fly the Irish tricolour instead. ↩

²⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²⁷ Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings. ↩

²⁸ The traditional Catalan flag. ↩

²⁹ The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence. ↩

³⁰ Flown over the Presidential Palace, parliament, provincial legislatures, and other government buildings. Private use highly restricted. ↩

³¹ Flown by embassies, airports, and merchant ships. Private use strictly banned. ↩

³² Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Estonian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³³ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Lithuanian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³⁴ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Latvian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³⁵ Banned within the People's Republic of China. The Tibet Autonomous Region does not have an official flag. ↩

³⁶ Flown in the Indian-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir. ↩

³⁷ Flown in the Pakistan-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir. ↩

³⁸ Flown by nationalists and separatists. The Indian state of Nagaland does not have an official flag. ↩

³⁹ The popular but unofficial flag of the Kannada people. The Indian state of Karnataka does not have an official flag. ↩

⁴⁰ 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. ↩

⁴¹ Flown by nationalists seeking the indpenedence of Timor-Leste. Under Indonesian occupation, flying the flag was illegal. The rarely-used official flag of "Timor Timur" was orange with the provincial seal in the middle. ↩

⁴² Flown by Karen nationalists seeking independence and separation from Burma. ↩

⁴³ The national flag of the Uyghur people, banned within the People's Republic of China. Xinjiang Region does not have an official flag. ↩

⁴⁴ Flown unofficially within the province but frowned upon by the national government. ↩

⁴⁵ An unofficial flag flown by Martinican nationalists and occasionally by local municipalities. ↩

⁴⁶ The unofficial but popular cultural flag of the island. ↩

⁴⁷ 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. ↩

⁴⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁴⁹ The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens. ↩

⁵⁰ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices. ↩

⁵¹ The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens. ↩

⁵² The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩

⁵³ Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩

⁵⁴ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁵⁵ A traditional military emblem, ceremonially flown alongside the national flag at government buildings. ↩

⁵⁶ A historic flag, ceremonially flown alongside the national flag at government buildings. ↩

⁵⁷ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩

⁵⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁵⁹ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩

⁶⁰ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

The World Flag Chart

◀︎ Flags of 1976 ▶︎

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
◀︎ ▶︎

The Caribbean
◀︎ ▶︎

Latin America
◀︎ ▶︎

Other International and Cultural Flags
◀︎ ▶︎

Events of 1976
◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1976◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1976
◀︎ ▶︎