Flags Of The World

The flags of the world begin with the Afghanistan flag and end with the Zimbabwe flag. Each flag represents a countries history and place in the world, a unique and important story that makes up the fabric of the human civilization.

Some country flags are widely recognized by people around the world: The Canadian Maple Leaf, the American Star-Spangled Banner, the French Tricolore. But how many flags of the 197 independent nations in the world would you be able to identify?

Here is the full list of every independent country in the world in alphabetical order:

A

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

The flag of Algeria features a crescent moon, the symbol of Islam.

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

This flag symbolizes Argentina’s independence from Spain. The blue stripes symbolize the sky. It was adopted in 1812.

Armenia

Aruba

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

B

Bahamas, The

Bahrain

Bangladesh

The red disc on the Bangladesh disc is a symbol for the rising sun and the blood of those who struggled for the country’s independence.

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Belize adopted its national flag on their first independence day on September 21, 1981.

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

The flag of Brazil features the Southern Cross and the national motto in Portuguese “Ordem e Progresso” (“Order and Progress).

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burma

Burundi

C

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

The flag of Canada is often referred to as the Maple Leaf in English or L’Unifolié in French. It was adopted in 1965 to replace the Canadian Red Ensign or the Union flag (the flag of the United Kingdom), which were then used in Canada.

Cabo Verde

The Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Colombia

Comoros

Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Republic of the

Costa Rica

Cote d’Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

The Cuban flag was adopted in 1902, only a few years after Cuban achieved its independence from Spain. The flag of Cuba served as the model for the flag of Puerto Rico and the Independentist flag of Catalonia, both of which also feature horizontal stripes and a red equilateral triangle with a star.

Curacao

Cyprus

Czechia

D

Denmark

The flag of Denmark features a white Scandinavian cross over a red background. Neighboring Sweden, Norway, and Finland also use similar designs.

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

E

East Timor (see Timor-Leste)

This former Portuguese colony was later invaded by neighboring Indonesia but recovered its independence 2002.

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Ethiopia

F

Fiji

Finland

France

The flag of France is one of the most recognizable world flags. It was adopted after the French Revolution in 1794.

G

Gabon

Gambia, The

Georgia

Germany

This horizontal tricolor flag was first adopted in 1919 although it was replaced by the Nazi flag in 1933. It was restored after Germany lost World War II in 1949.

Ghana

Greece

The cross of the flag of Greece symbolizes Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

H

Haiti

Holy See

Honduras

Hong Kong

The national flag of Hong Kong was adopted when the United Kingdom handed over the sovereignty of their former colony over to the People’s Republic of China. It replaced several former colonial flags that were similar in design to those used for other former British colonies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Hungary

I

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

The Republic of Ireland follows the republic tradition set out by France of having a tricolor flag. The flag was adopted after the country’s independence from Britain in 1922.

Israel

Italy

J

Jamaica

Japan

The national flag of Japan symbolizes the rising sand, for which the country is famous. It was first adopted in 1870.

Jordan

K

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

 

Kosovo

The flag of Kosovo was only adopted in 2008 after the nation declared independence from Serbia. It features a map of Kosovo over a blue background.

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

L

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

The flag of Liberia resembles that of the United States because the African nation was founded by freed slaves from America and the Caribbean.

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

With a very similar design to the one used for the flag of the Netherlands, Luxembourg adopted it in 1830. The small country had no national flag at that point.

M

Macau

This former Portuguese colony is now a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. It features a lotus flower, which is the floral emblem of the country.

Macedonia

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Mali

Malta

The most salient element of the Maltese flag is the George Cross, King George VI awarded this Mediterranean island nation back when it was a British colony.

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Micronesia

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

N

Namibia

Nauru

Nepal

The flag of Nepal is unique because it is the only flag in the world that does not have a quadrilateral design.

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

Norway

O

Oman

P

Pakistan

Palau

Palestinian Territories

Panama

The national flag of Panama was adopted in 1925.

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

The national flag of the Portuguese Republic features a representation of an armillary sphere that symbolizes the role Portugal played in the so-called Age of Discoveries, and the Portuguese shield that in different forms has been used since Portugal was born in 1139.

Q

Qatar

R

Romania

Russia

The Russian tricolor flag was first adopted in 1696 but it was replaced by different flags until it was restored in the early 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Rwanda

S

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa

San Marino

Sao Tome and Principe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Sint Maarten

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South Africa

The colorful flag of South Africa was adopted in 1994 replacing the old flag that had been in used by the apartheid regime since 1928.

South Korea

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Swaziland

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

T

Taiwan

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

The current flag of Turkey is inspired by the flag of the Ottoman empire. It was adopted in 1936.

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

U

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United States of America

I wake up every morning signing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ – Terry McAuliffe

United Kingdom

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

V

Vanuatu

Venezuela

The current Venezuelan flag was adopted in 2006 but it was based on the flag that had been in use after the Venezuelan War of Independence in 1811. Some of the changes were adding the eighth star or changing the orientation of the white horse galloping, from left to right.

Vietnam

Y

Yemen

Z

Zambia

Zimbabwe