The colors and designs of the national flags are not selected arbitrarily, but are derived from the history, culture, or religion of the particular country. Many can be traced back to a common originand such “flag families” are often linked by both common traditions and geography.
The oldest European flags still in use, for example, are those displaying the Christian cross, first widely used in the Crusades. It is worth noting the British flag, the Union Jack, which incorporates the Crosses of Saint George (England), Saint Andrew (Scotland) and Saint Patrick (Ireland). Also similar are those of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Greece and Switzerland.
Following the introduction of heraldry to Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, European royalty adopted coats of arms which soon became the basis for their flags. Those heraldic devices have largely disappeared from modern national flags, but the colors used in the coats of arms remain the colors of the flags of Poland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Monaco.
This stunning graphic by Giulia De Amicis shows flags of 196 countries recognized by international standards, grouped according to the main design characteristics: color and pattern. It includes 193 United Nations member states, two permanent non-member observer states: Vatican City and Palestine, and Taiwan, a self-governing democracy and former member of the UN.
You can see the graph in its highest resolution here.
Common shapes and aspect ratio
Most countries have flags in the form of a quadrilateral, a four-sided polygon with four edges and four corners, mostly with an aspect ratio of 2:3 or 1:2. In contrast, the Nepalese flag stands out with its unique design. It consists of two triangular shapes with a white moon at the top and a white sun at the bottom. The unusual design of the flag has at times caused difficulties for large-scale reproduction. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, for example, it was placed on a white rectangular cloth in the same shape as other flags.
A simple tricolor design, in either portrait or landscape orientation, is the most prevalent pattern, present in 68 countries. The stars continue with 40 flags of countries, while 29 flags had a seal or stripes. But there are many other flag designs to consider, such as the geometric designs used by Cuba and South Africa, crosses like the Union Jack of the United Kingdom, and circles like those of Japan and South Korea.
And not all flags fit into a single design category, like the green and white flag of Pakistan with a crescent and star, or the many flags that include a British flag in their design. The symbolism attributed to the flag’s design can range from abstract explanations to more literal explanations. The meaning of the flag designs can also change over time, often influenced by major political changes.
What are the most popular colors?
By far the most popular color used in national flags is red, with 20% of the countries listed featuring it in their flag design. In vexillology, the study of flags, red is believed to be a symbol of power, bravery, revolution and vitality, as well as war in reference to the bloodshed of the past. The green appears as the second most used color with 15% of the countries incorporating it, followed by black (14%), purple (12%), white (11.5%), light blue (11%) and blue (9.5%). Yellow was the least popular, with only 7% of countries using it on their national flags.
Certain regions share a distinct mix of colors that neighboring countries have adopted. For example, red, white, green, and black are seen on various flags of Arab nations. Similarly, the combinations of green, red and yellow are often a symbol of pan-African countries.
Symbolism and origins in design
Among the best-known striped flags in Europe is the red, white, and blue flag of the Netherlands. Due to its use in that country’s long war of independence from Spain, the flag and its colors became associated with the concepts of freedom and a republican form of government. That association was strongly reinforced by France’s adoption of the same colors, but with vertical rather than horizontal stripes, after the French Revolution of 1789. However, the newly independent United States’ choice of those colors for the Stars and Stripes was based on its form affiliation with Great Britain.
The flag of the Soviet Union was red with a yellow hammer and sickle, the traditional symbol of revolution for communists. China also adopted a red flag based on the communist associations of that color.
In the Middle East, the dominance of Islam has generally limited the choice of flag colors to the four traditional Muslim colors of red, white, green, and black. The flags of most Arab states use one or more of those colors in a tricolor format, although the star and crescent motif it is present on the flags of Türkiye, Algeria and Tunisia. Other mainly Muslim countries, such as Pakistan and Malaysia, also use the star and crescent as a sign of their Islamic faith.
Almost all of the flags of sub-Saharan African countries were created in the late 1950s and 1960s and have strong family resemblances to each other. The two main categories are the flags of the member states of the British Commonwealth and those of countries formerly under French colonial control. The flags of the former French colonies tend to have vertical tricolors and are usually colored green, yellow, and red, while the flags of Commonwealth members have horizontal tricolors and often include green, blue, black, and white.
The flags of the countries of Asia present a remarkable diversity that is due in large part to the development of distinctive national symbols before the era of European colonization. The general pattern that can be noticed is the use of a religious or political symbol against a solid color background. There are flags with the sun (Japan, Nepal, Taiwan), a wheel (India), the yin-yang symbol (South Korea, Mongolia), a dragon (Bhutan), and a sword (Sri Lanka). Australia and New Zealand use modified versions of a type of British flag, the blue ensign.
The former political union of five of the Central American countries is commemorated by the conservation of the old blue-white-blue Central American flag, which has been modified by each individual country. The common historical heritage of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador is shown in the almost identical yellow, blue and red tricolor flags they use. Some other South American countries were influenced in the choice of their flags by those of the United States or France.
Graphics: Giulia De Amicis | Flag Stories
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