Flags of All Countries in the World with Their Names

The answer depends on the definition used! The UN has 193 member countries — these are the sovereign states officially recognized by the international community. In addition, there are 2 non-member observer states: the Vatican and Palestine, as well as the Cook Islands and Niue, recognized by the UN without being members. Counting also the territories and non-recognized countries (Kosovo, Taiwan, Northern Cyprus...), there are over 200 geopolitical entities in the world. That is why our PDF contains over 200 flags!

Several countries stand out for the great simplicity of their flag. They can be grouped into three categories:

Flags with two horizontal bands — among the most minimalist: Indonesia (bright red and white), Monaco (red and white, identical to Indonesia but with a darker red and different proportions), Poland (white and red) and Ukraine (blue and yellow).

• 
• 
• 
• 

Flags with a disc — Japan features a perfectly centered red disc on a white background. Bangladesh and Palau also display a single disc, but slightly offset toward the flagpole.

• 
• 
• 

Flags with a simple geometric shape — Vietnam features a yellow five-pointed star on a red background, while Switzerland displays a white cross on a red background.

• 
• 

The title goes to Turkmenistan, whose flag features a vertical band adorned with five extremely detailed traditional carpet motifs — a level of graphic complexity rarely seen among national flags.

• 

Also worth mentioning among the most complex flags: Afghanistan, whose flag features a mosque surrounded by very detailed wheat sheaves, Bhutan, whose intricate white dragon on a two-colored background is highly elaborate, and Cambodia, whose flag depicts the temple of Angkor Wat with remarkable architectural precision.

• 
• 
• 

Only two countries in the world have a square flag (1:1 ratio): Switzerland and Vatican City. All other countries have rectangular flags — most commonly in a 2:3 or 1:2 ratio. Switzerland's white cross on red and Vatican City's yellow and white bands are therefore doubly unique: both in their colors and their shape!

• 
• 

It's Nepal — and it is completely unique! Its flag is made up of two stacked triangular pennants*, giving it an irregular double-triangle silhouette. It is the only national flag in the world that is neither square nor rectangular. The crimson red symbolizes national courage, the blue border represents peace, and the white symbols (sun and moon) embody the permanence of the Nepalese nation.

* A pennant is a small triangular or flame-shaped piece of fabric, used as a flag or banner.

• 

The Union Jack is the flag of the United Kingdom. It appears in the canton (top left corner) of six other national flags, all from the former British Empire.

UN member countries:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Countries in free association with New Zealand:

• 
• 

Many national flags look strikingly similar, sometimes to the point of being easily confused. Here are the most remarkable pairs and groups:

Romania and Chad — these are the two national flags that look most alike in the world: two nearly identical vertical tricolors of blue, yellow and red. The only visible difference: Romania's blue is slightly lighter than Chad's.

• 
• 

Indonesia and Monaco — both feature two horizontal bands of red and white. The difference: Monaco's red is darker and its proportions are different (more square).

• 
• 

Monaco and Poland — same red and white colors, but arranged differently: red on top for Monaco, white on top for Poland.

• 
• 

Ireland and Côte d'Ivoire — both vertical tricolors of green, white and orange. The difference: the colors are in reverse order — green on the left for Ireland, orange on the left for Côte d'Ivoire.

• 
• 

Guinea and Mali — both vertical tricolors of red, yellow and green. The colors are in reverse order: red on the left for Guinea, green on the left for Mali. Also worth noting: Mali's green is brighter than Guinea's.

• 
• 

Senegal and Cameroon — both vertical tricolors of green, yellow and red. The differences: the stripe order is different (green-yellow-red for Senegal, green-red-yellow for Cameroon); Senegal features a green star in the center of its yellow stripe, Cameroon a yellow star in the center of its red stripe; finally, Senegal's yellow is brighter while Cameroon's is more golden.

• 
• 

Palestine and Jordan — both horizontal tricolors of black, white and green with a red triangle at the hoist. The difference: Jordan features a white seven-pointed star in the red triangle.

• 
• 

Qatar and Bahrain — both feature a white band and a colored band separated by a serrated line. The differences: Qatar is maroon with 9 points, Bahrain is red with 5 points; their proportions also differ greatly — Qatar is much wider (11:28 ratio) than Bahrain (1:2 ratio).

• 
• 

Australia and New Zealand — both feature the Union Jack and stars on a blue background. The difference: New Zealand has 4 red stars with white borders while Australia has 6 white stars, including a large 7-pointed star representing the states of the federation.

• 
• 

Moldova and Andorra — both vertical tricolors with nearly identical colors of blue, yellow and red. The flags differ only in their central coat of arms.

• 
• 

El Salvador and Nicaragua — both horizontal tricolors of blue, white and blue with a coat of arms in the center. The difference: the national coat of arms are different.

• 
• 

Costa Rica and Thailand — both feature horizontal blue, white and red stripes. The difference: Costa Rica has a wide red central band, Thailand a wide blue central band.

• 
• 

Bolivia and Ghana — both horizontal tricolors of red, yellow and green. The difference: Ghana features a black star in the center.

• 
• 

Yemen and Egypt — both horizontal tricolors of red, white and black. The difference: Egypt features a golden eagle in the center, Yemen has no emblem.

• 
• 

Italy and Mexico — both vertical tricolors of green, white and red. The difference: Mexico features its national coat of arms in the center (an eagle), Italy has no emblem.

• 
• 

Hungary and Tajikistan — both horizontal tricolors of red, white and green. The difference: Tajikistan features a crown and seven stars in the center, Hungary has no emblem.

• 
• 

Netherlands and Paraguay — both horizontal tricolors of red, white and blue. The difference: Paraguay features its coat of arms in the center, the Netherlands has no emblem.

• 
• 

Colombia and Ecuador — both horizontal tricolors of yellow, blue and red. The difference: Ecuador features its national coat of arms in the center, Colombia has no emblem.

• 
• 

Russia, Slovenia and Slovakia — all three horizontal tricolors of white, blue and red. They can be told apart by their coat of arms: Russia has none, while Slovenia features a snowy mountain with yellow stars and Slovakia a white double cross — both positioned in the left canton.

• 
• 
• 

Turkey and Tunisia — both red flags featuring a star and crescent. The difference: for Turkey, the crescent and star are white directly on the red background; for Tunisia, they are red and placed inside a white central disc.

• 
• 

Iceland and Norway — both feature a Nordic cross on a colored background. The difference: Norway has a blue cross bordered in white on a red background, Iceland has a red cross bordered in white on a blue background — the colors are exactly reversed.

• 
• 

Germany and Belgium — both tricolors of black, red and yellow/gold. The difference: Belgium has vertical bands (not horizontal), its yellow is more golden and its proportions more square.

• 
• 

The animal most represented on national flags around the world is undoubtedly the eagle — a universal symbol of power, freedom and sovereignty. It appears directly on 7 national flags:

• Albania — a black double-headed eagle on a red background, inherited from the Byzantine Empire and adopted as a national symbol in the 15th century by the national hero George Castriot Skanderbeg;
• Egypt — the Eagle of Saladin, a golden eagle with spread wings, in reference to Sultan Saladin who unified the Arab world in the 12th century;
• Kazakhstan — a golden steppe eagle in flight beneath a radiant sun, symbol of freedom and the vast open spaces of the Kazakh steppe;
• Mexico — an Aztec golden eagle perched on a cactus, devouring a serpent, referencing the founding legend of Tenochtitlan;
• Moldova — a golden eagle holding an Orthodox cross, an olive branch and a scepter, in the center of the tricolor flag;
• Montenegro — a crowned golden double-headed eagle on a red background, a heritage of the Byzantine tradition;
• Serbia — a crowned white double-headed eagle in the national coat of arms positioned in the left canton of the flag.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Two special cases:

• Zambia — the raptor depicted is an African fish eagle (also known as the vocifer fish eagle or African sea eagle), a bird of prey closely related to eagles but not strictly one. It is shown in flight in the right canton of the flag;
• Zimbabwe — the Zimbabwe bird, the national emblem carved in stone, most likely represents the bateleur eagle, an African bird of prey belonging to the eagle family.

• 
• 
• 
• 

Countries whose eagle appears only on their coat of arms or state flag, and not on the national flag: Germany (black federal eagle), Austria (black double-headed eagle), Iraq (Eagle of Saladin), Palestine (Eagle of Saladin), Poland (crowned white eagle) and Yemen (Eagle of Saladin).

Not to be confused with an eagle: the falcon featured on Panama's coat of arms, and the condor — an Andean bird of prey distinct from the eagle — found on the coats of arms of several South American countries (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador).