Which country's flag is a simple horizontal field of blue over yellow?
Answer
Correct answer: Ukraine.
The blue represents the sky above the country's vast golden wheat fields.
Which country's red-blue-white flag carries a white double-headed eagle and a shield with four Cyrillic "S" symbols?
Answer
Correct answer: Serbia.
The four "S" shapes stand for a national motto meaning "Only Unity Saves the Serbs."
Which country's red-white-blue flag has a central shield of red and white checkerboard squares?
Answer
Correct answer: Croatia.
The red-and-white "sahovnica" checkerboard has been a Croatian emblem for many centuries.
Which country's red-white-light-blue flag is almost identical to the Netherlands', but lighter and longer?
Answer
Correct answer: Luxembourg.
The two are so alike that Luxembourg has repeatedly debated switching to a banner with its heraldic red lion instead.
Which country's flag has three vertical bands of black, yellow and red?
Answer
Correct answer: Belgium.
The colours come from the arms of the Duchy of Brabant — a gold lion with red claws and tongue on a black field.
Which Nordic country's flag is a red Scandinavian cross outlined in white on a blue field?
Answer
Correct answer: Iceland.
Blue is for the mountains, white for ice and snow, and red for the island's volcanic fire.
Which Nordic country's flag is a blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white on a red field?
Answer
Correct answer: Norway.
Norway added a blue cross to Denmark's red-and-white flag in 1821, combining the colours of liberty shared by France, Britain and the United States.
A grey crowned crane standing on one leg appears at the centre of which African country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Uganda.
The grey crowned crane is Uganda's national bird; the black, yellow and red bands stand for the people, sunshine and brotherhood.
Which country's white-blue-red flag carries a shield showing Mount Triglav, two wavy lines and three gold stars?
Answer
Correct answer: Slovenia.
Mount Triglav is the country's highest peak; the wavy lines are its rivers and Adriatic coast, and the three stars come from the medieval Counts of Celje.
How many rays does the rising sun on the flag of Kiribati have?
Answer
Correct answer: 17.
The 17 rays represent the 16 Gilbert Islands together with Banaba.
Which farming tool is crossed with the rifle on the flag of Mozambique?
Answer
Correct answer: A hoe.
The hoe stands for agriculture and the rifle for defence, laid together over an open book for education.
The four leaves in the corners of Sri Lanka's flag come from which sacred tree?
Answer
Correct answer: The bo (Bodhi) tree.
The bo-leaves stand for the four Buddhist virtues of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
How many green stars surround the parrot on the flag of Dominica?
Answer
Correct answer: 10.
The ten stars represent the country's ten parishes.
How many rays does the golden sun on the flag of the Philippines have?
Answer
Correct answer: 8.
The eight rays honour the first eight provinces to rise in revolt against Spanish rule.
Besides a sun, which celestial symbol appears on Nepal's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: A crescent moon.
The moon sits in the upper pennant and the sun in the lower, expressing the wish that the nation endure as long as they do.
What does the dragon on Bhutan's flag hold in its claws?
Answer
Correct answer: Jewels.
The Druk, or Thunder Dragon, grasps jewels that symbolise the nation's wealth and protection.
How many rays does the sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan have?
Answer
Correct answer: 40.
The 40 rays represent the 40 Kyrgyz tribes united in legend by the hero Manas.
Which two colours make up the flag of Indonesia?
Answer
Correct answer: Red and white.
Named "Sang Saka Merah-Putih," it places red for courage above white for purity.
What shape is the national flag of Switzerland?
Answer
Correct answer: Square.
Switzerland and Vatican City are the only two countries in the world with square national flags.
How many stars are on the flag of the United States?
Answer
Correct answer: 50.
The 50 stars stand for the 50 states, while the 13 stripes recall the original colonies.
Which country's white flag has a red-and-blue circle with black bars in each corner?
Answer
Correct answer: South Korea.
The central circle is the Taegeuk, a symbol of cosmic balance; the flag itself is called the Taegeukgi.
Which country's flag is green with a yellow diamond holding a blue starry globe?
Answer
Correct answer: Brazil.
The band across the globe reads "Ordem e Progresso" — "Order and Progress."
Which country's flag has orange, white and green bands with a navy-blue wheel in the centre?
Answer
Correct answer: India.
The 24-spoke wheel is the Ashoka Chakra, an ancient symbol of law and progress.
Which country's red flag has five yellow stars in the upper hoist corner?
Answer
Correct answer: China.
One large star leads four smaller ones, a design adopted when the People's Republic was founded in 1949.
Which country's flag has a single red maple leaf between two red vertical bars?
Answer
Correct answer: Canada.
The maple leaf has been a Canadian emblem for centuries; this design was adopted in 1965.
Which country's flag has three equal vertical stripes of blue, white and red?
Answer
Correct answer: France.
Born of the French Revolution, this tricolour has inspired the flag designs of dozens of nations.
Which country's flag is a single red circle on a plain white background?
Answer
Correct answer: Japan.
The red disc represents the sun, fitting for a nation long known as the Land of the Rising Sun.
A white map of the world framed by two olive branches on a light-blue field is the flag of which organisation?
Answer
Correct answer: United Nations.
The map is a polar projection centred on the North Pole so that no single country sits at the middle; the olive branches are an ancient symbol of peace.
Which Arctic territory's flag is split white over red with an offset disc in the opposite colours?
Answer
Correct answer: Greenland.
Called "Erfalasorput" ("our flag"), it is the only flag of a Nordic territory without a cross; the half-and-half disc suggests the sun setting over the ice and sea.
Which territory's light-green flag shows a white lotus above a bridge and water, beneath an arc of five golden stars?
Answer
Correct answer: Macao.
Adopted in 1999 when Portugal transferred sovereignty to China, the lotus is the region's floral emblem while the bridge and water reflect its setting on the Pearl River estuary.
Which territory's red flag bears a stylised white five-petal Bauhinia flower?
Answer
Correct answer: Hong Kong.
Adopted in 1997 when sovereignty passed from Britain to China, each of the flower's five petals carries a small red star, echoing China's national flag.
A single white star below a thin gold line marking the Equator identifies which Pacific island's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Nauru.
The gold line is the Equator; the 12-pointed star sits just below it and slightly off-centre, showing where Nauru actually lies in the Pacific.
A golden frigatebird over a rising sun and three white wave-bands forms which Pacific nation's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Kiribati.
The sun's 17 rays and the frigatebird represent power, freedom and the spread of the country's islands across the Pacific.
Which Pacific nation's light-blue flag has the Union Jack and a shield with a British lion and sugar cane?
Answer
Correct answer: Fiji.
The sky-blue field represents the Pacific Ocean. Although Fiji became a republic, it has kept the colonial-era Union Jack on its flag.
Which country's diagonally split flag has a bird-of-paradise on red and the Southern Cross on black?
Answer
Correct answer: Papua New Guinea.
Susan Karike sketched the winning design in her school exercise book in 1971. The red, black and yellow are drawn from traditional art and clothing.
Which country's flag shows the Union Jack with the Southern Cross as four red, white-bordered stars?
Answer
Correct answer: New Zealand.
A 2016 national referendum considered replacing it with a silver-fern design, but voters chose to keep the current flag.
Which country's flag has the Union Jack, a large seven-pointed Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross?
Answer
Correct answer: Australia.
The seven-pointed star stands for the six states plus the territories. New Zealand's similar flag drops the big star and uses four red stars instead of five.
A purple Sisserou parrot stands at the centre of which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Dominica.
The endangered Sisserou parrot lives only on Dominica. The cross of yellow, black and white bands represents the island's peoples, soil and faith; its purple plumage makes Dominica one of only two countries to use purple on a flag.
A "broken trident" snapped from its handle marks a break from colonial rule on which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Barbados.
The broken shaft marks independence from Britain in 1966; the blue bands are the sea and sky, the gold the island's sand.
A black triangle over a yellow one on a blue field represents the twin Pitons on which island's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Saint Lucia.
Blue is the sea, gold the sunshine, and the black-and-white peaks the two volcanic Pitons rising from the sea — and the harmony of the island's peoples.
Nine white-and-blue stripes with a golden "Sun of May" in the canton form which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Uruguay.
The nine stripes stand for the country's nine original departments; the sun, with a human face, is shared with Argentina as a symbol of independence.
Blue over red bands with a central panel of palms, cannons and the motto "L'Union Fait La Force" form which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Haiti.
Tradition says the flag was made by tearing the white band out of the French tricolour. The motto means "Unity Makes Strength."
Which country's flag has four quadrants, two solid and two white, each white one holding a star?
Answer
Correct answer: Panama.
The blue and red were said to represent the country's two main political parties, with the white standing for peace between them.
A coat of arms with five volcanoes and a small rainbow sits on which Central American country's blue-white-blue flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Nicaragua.
Nicaragua is one of only two countries to use purple on its flag — in the tiny rainbow of its emblem. The five volcanoes again recall the Central American federation.
Five blue stars in an X across the white band of which country's flag recall a former federation?
Answer
Correct answer: Honduras.
The five stars represent the members of the United Provinces of Central America, kept on the flag in hope of one day reuniting.
A quetzal bird and crossed rifles on a white centre between two pale-blue bands form which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Guatemala.
The resplendent quetzal symbolises liberty — it is said not to survive in captivity. The blue-white-blue recalls the old Central American federation.
An arc of eight white stars sits on the blue band of which country's yellow-blue-red flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Venezuela.
Bolivar called for a star to honour each province of the independence movement; an eighth was later added. The state arms show a wild horse galloping toward freedom.
Which South American country's flag is yellow on top at double width, then blue and red?
Answer
Correct answer: Colombia.
The colours come from Gran Colombia, the union led by Simon Bolivar: yellow for the land's gold, blue for the seas, red for the blood of independence.
Which country's blue-white-red-white-blue flag has a wide red central band?
Answer
Correct answer: Costa Rica.
The red band was added in 1848, inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution. The state version's arms show three volcanoes and two oceans.
Which country's flag is a golden diagonal cross dividing green and black triangles, with no red, white or blue?
Answer
Correct answer: Jamaica.
Gold is for sunshine and mineral wealth, green for the land, black for the strength and creativity of the people.
Which Caribbean country's "Lone Star" flag has a red triangle with a white star and five blue-and-white stripes?
Answer
Correct answer: Cuba.
Its design closely mirrors Puerto Rico's flag in reverse colours. The triangle's red is the blood of independence; the white star is the nation.
Which country flies both a red-yellow-green tricolour and the rainbow-checked "Wiphala" of its indigenous peoples?
Answer
Correct answer: Bolivia.
Since 2009 the square, seven-coloured Wiphala has held equal status as a national symbol. On the tricolour, red is valour, yellow mineral wealth, green the land.
Which South American country's flag has three vertical bands of red, white and red?
Answer
Correct answer: Peru.
Legend says the colours were inspired by flamingos the liberator San Martin saw taking flight. The state version's arms show a vicuna, a cinchona tree and a cornucopia.
Which country's flag, "La Estrella Solitaria", has a white star on a blue canton beside white and red bands?
Answer
Correct answer: Chile.
Adopted in 1817, it actually predates the similar-looking Lone Star flag of Texas; the single star is a guide to progress and honour.
The golden "Sun of May" with a human face shines from the centre of which country's light-blue-and-white flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Argentina.
The sun commemorates the May Revolution of 1810 against Spanish rule. Uruguay's flag carries a similar sun, but over blue-and-white stripes.
An eagle perched on a cactus and devouring a snake sits at the centre of which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Mexico.
The scene comes from the Aztec legend that foretold where to found their capital, Tenochtitlan — the site of today's Mexico City.
Which country's current 50-star flag was designed by a teenager for a school project that first earned a B-minus?
Answer
Correct answer: United States.
In 1958 Robert Heft, 17, sewed a 50-star flag before Alaska and Hawaii had even joined. When it matched the design Congress later adopted, his teacher changed the grade to an A. The 50 stars are the states; the 13 stripes the original colonies.
Five colours fanning out from the lower hoist corner form which Indian Ocean nation's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Seychelles.
The oblique bands of blue, yellow, red, white and green represent a dynamic young country moving boldly into the future.
A gold-edged black diagonal band between green and blue triangles runs across which East African country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Tanzania.
The country was formed by uniting Tanganyika and Zanzibar; green is the land, blue the lakes and ocean, black the people and gold the mineral wealth.
The Great Zimbabwe Bird perched on a red star appears on which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Zimbabwe.
The bird is a national emblem recovered from the ruined stone city of Great Zimbabwe; the coloured stripes reflect the land, its minerals and its people.
Which country's light-blue flag is crossed by a single black-and-white stripe for water and racial harmony?
Answer
Correct answer: Botswana.
The blue is rain and water, precious in the Kalahari — the national motto is "Pula," meaning rain. The black-and-white band signals harmony between peoples.
A black Basotho straw hat, the mokorotlo, sits at the centre of which mountain kingdom's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Lesotho.
Adopted in 2006 to mark 40 years of independence, the hat replaced an older design that showed weapons — a deliberate turn toward peace.
A black-and-white Nguni shield with two spears and a staff lies across the centre of which African kingdom's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Eswatini.
The shield's black and white symbolise Black and white people living together in peace. The country was renamed from Swaziland in 2018.
Which country, the world's youngest, has a six-colour flag of black, red, green, white, blue and gold?
Answer
Correct answer: South Sudan.
Independent only since 2011, it joins the pan-African black, red and green with a blue triangle and a gold "Star of Bethlehem" for unity.
Which country's plain green-white-green flag was designed by a student who won a 1959 national contest?
Answer
Correct answer: Nigeria.
Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi won the 1959 competition. Green stands for the country's forests and agriculture, white for peace.
A machete and half-cogwheel beneath a star, echoing the hammer and sickle, appear on which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Angola.
The black-and-red flag reflects the Marxist movement that won independence from Portugal: the machete for peasants and armed struggle, the cogwheel for industrial workers.
A red triangle holding a golden olive branch in a wreath dominates which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Eritrea.
The olive symbolises the long struggle for independence from Ethiopia; green is for agriculture and blue for the Red Sea.
Which country adopted a blue-yellow-green flag with a golden sun in 2001 to replace a flag tied to its genocide?
Answer
Correct answer: Rwanda.
The earlier red-yellow-green flag was dropped to break with the violence; the rising sun stands for enlightenment and a fresh start.
Which never-colonised country's green-yellow-red flag became the model for the "pan-African" colours?
Answer
Correct answer: Ethiopia.
Because Ethiopia resisted European colonisation, newly independent African nations adopted its colours in solidarity. A golden star sits on the central blue disc.
Which country's red-gold-green flag has a black star at its centre, a symbol of African freedom?
Answer
Correct answer: Ghana.
Ghana was the first sub-Saharan colony to win independence. Its "Black Star" echoes the Black Star Line of pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey and names the national football team.
The golden Eagle of Saladin sits on the white band of which country's red-white-black flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Egypt.
The Eagle of Saladin is a pan-Arab symbol named for the 12th-century sultan; the red, white and black bands are the Arab Liberation colours.
A Maasai shield with two crossed spears sits at the centre of which African country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Kenya.
Black is for the people, red for the blood shed for freedom, green for the land — and the shield with spears for the defence of all three.
Which Central Asian country's green flag has a vertical stripe of five intricate carpet designs?
Answer
Correct answer: Turkmenistan.
The five carpet "guls" represent the country's five main tribes. The flag also carries a crescent, five stars and two olive branches, and is often called the world's most detailed national flag.
Which island Gulf kingdom's red flag has a white serrated band of five points, one per Pillar of Islam?
Answer
Correct answer: Bahrain.
The five points were standardised in 2002; the zigzag edge distinguishes Bahrain's red flag from the similar maroon flag of Qatar.
Which Gulf country's maroon flag has a white serrated band of nine points along the hoist?
Answer
Correct answer: Qatar.
Qatar's flag is unusually elongated — wider than twice its height. Its maroon began as a red dye that darkened under the desert sun, setting it apart from neighbouring Bahrain.
Which oil-rich sultanate's yellow flag has black and white diagonal stripes and a red crest of upturned hands?
Answer
Correct answer: Brunei.
The crest's pair of upturned hands symbolises the government's pledge to promote welfare and peace; yellow is the colour of the sultan.
Which Southeast Asian country adopted a yellow-green-red flag with a large central white star in 2010?
Answer
Correct answer: Myanmar.
The single large star represents the union of the country; yellow, green and red stand for solidarity, peace and courage.
Which South Asian country's flag has a red disc set slightly toward the hoist on a green field?
Answer
Correct answer: Bangladesh.
The disc is deliberately off-centre so it appears centred when the flag flutters. Red is the blood of the 1971 liberation war; green is the fertile land.
Which Southeast Asian country's flag has a white disc on a blue band between two red stripes?
Answer
Correct answer: Laos.
The white circle represents the full moon over the Mekong River and national unity. Unusually for a communist-led state, the flag bears no red star.
Which country's flag has a red star in a white disc on a broad red central band?
Answer
Correct answer: North Korea.
The red star represents the revolution; the blue bands stand for sovereignty and peace, and the white for purity.
Which country's five-striped red-white-blue flag, the "Trairanga", has a wide central blue band for the monarchy?
Answer
Correct answer: Thailand.
Red is the nation, white is religion, and blue the king; the blue band was reportedly added to show solidarity with the Allies during the First World War.
Which Gulf federation's flag has a vertical red band beside horizontal green, white and black?
Answer
Correct answer: United Arab Emirates.
The four colours appear in a famous medieval Arabic poem as emblems of Arab virtues and dynasties. The red band sits vertically at the hoist.
Which country's black-white-green flag has a red triangle bearing a white seven-pointed star?
Answer
Correct answer: Jordan.
The seven points of the star are said to stand for the seven verses of the opening chapter of the Quran. Palestine's flag is nearly identical but without the star.
The phrase "Allahu Akbar" in green Kufic script lies between the red, white and black bands of which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Iraq.
The red, white and black are pan-Arab colours; the inscription was redrawn in its current clean Kufic style in 2008.
Which country's green-white-red flag has a stylised emblem of the word "Allah" and bands of repeated script?
Answer
Correct answer: Iran.
"Allahu Akbar" is written 22 times along the edges of the white band, marking the 22nd of the month Bahman — the date of the 1979 revolution.
Which Central Asian country's red flag has a yellow sun whose centre is the crossed roof-frame of a yurt?
Answer
Correct answer: Kyrgyzstan.
The criss-cross inside the sun is a "tunduk," the wooden crown at the peak of a nomad's yurt — a symbol of home and family.
Which country's "Lion Flag" shows a golden lion holding a sword, framed by four leaves?
Answer
Correct answer: Sri Lanka.
The four leaves are from the sacred bo (Bodhi) tree; the green and orange stripes represent the island's Muslim and Tamil communities.
Which country flies its flag upside down, red stripe on top, to signal that the nation is at war?
Answer
Correct answer: Philippines.
In peacetime the blue band is on top. The white triangle holds a golden sun with eight rays for the first eight provinces to revolt against Spain, and three stars for the main island groups.
The golden Soyombo emblem of fire, sun and moon appears at the hoist of which country's flag?
Answer
Correct answer: Mongolia.
The Soyombo is a national emblem made of stacked elemental symbols. The red panels stand for prosperity, the blue for the eternal sky.
Which country's flag has a green cedar tree between two red bands?
Answer
Correct answer: Lebanon.
The Cedar of Lebanon, mentioned throughout the Bible, symbolises holiness, eternity and peace.
Which country's flag has a blue Star of David between two stripes, evoking a prayer shawl?
Answer
Correct answer: Israel.
The two blue bands recall the stripes of the tallit; the six-pointed star is the Magen David, the "Shield of David."
Which country's flag features the temple of Angkor Wat at its centre?
Answer
Correct answer: Cambodia.
The three-towered silhouette of the 12th-century temple has appeared on Cambodian flags for more than a century, making it the only current national flag to depict a building.
Which Southeast Asian country's flag is a single large yellow star on a red field?
Answer
Correct answer: Vietnam.
Known as the "golden star flag," its five points are said to represent workers, peasants, soldiers, intellectuals and youth.
Which country's green flag bears the Islamic declaration of faith above a sword and is never flown at half-mast?
Answer
Correct answer: Saudi Arabia.
Because the sacred Shahada must not be dishonoured, the flag is never lowered to half-mast and is printed on both sides so the script reads correctly from either.
Which country's red-and-white flag has a crescent and five stars for a young nation and five ideals?
Answer
Correct answer: Singapore.
The crescent is a rising young country; the five stars are democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.
Which country's flag is a red band over a white band, nearly identical to Monaco's but in different proportions?
Answer
Correct answer: Indonesia.
Called "Sang Saka Merah-Putih" — red for courage, white for purity. Turned upside down, it becomes the flag of Poland.
On Pakistan's green flag, what does the white vertical stripe at the hoist represent?
Answer
Correct answer: The country's religious minorities.
Green with the crescent and star stands for the Muslim majority; the white band is a deliberate pledge to the nation's minority communities.
On China's flag, what do the four small stars around the large star represent?
Answer
Correct answer: The people united under the Communist Party.
The large star is the Communist Party; the four smaller stars originally stood for the four social classes of the revolution, all gathered around it.
How many spokes does the navy-blue Ashoka Chakra at the centre of India's flag have?
Answer
Correct answer: 24.
The 24-spoke "wheel of dharma" replaced Gandhi's spinning wheel in the final design. Saffron stands for courage, green for faith and fertility.
Which Central European country's flag has a blue triangle at the hoist over white and red bands?
Answer
Correct answer: Czechia.
When Czechoslovakia split in 1993, the Czech Republic kept the former joint flag — adding the blue triangle to the historic white and red of Bohemia.
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