These 32 World Flags Are So Creative, They Must Have Been Made By Geniuses

Sep 05, 2018 by apost team

Our world is made up of 197 recognized countries. Each one of those unique countries has its own creative national flag. Although you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, the flags that represent these countries can say a lot about the inhabitants of that particular place. By studying flags from around the world, you can find a few similarities and many differences, as well as facts that you probably aren’t aware of.

Let’s begin by stating that every single flag is in the shape of a rectangle except one!

Nepal is unique because they are the only country in the world with a flag that has an untraditional shape. The two triangles that compose the flag are meant to symbolize the two peaks that can be found on Mount Everest because it is located on the border of Nepal. Furthermore, the sun and the moon have meaning.

In legends, it is said that this country will exist as long as the sun and the moon do.

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You probably know that most national flags have a rectangular shape. However, the flags for Vatican City and Switzerland are unique because they are shaped like squares. You may recognize the red cross on the flag of Switzerland because The International Committee of the Red Cross uses a similar logo, but with the colors alternate. They chose to take inspiration from this flag because the founder, Henry Dunant, was from Switzerland.

It should also be noted that the majority of national flags run horizontally, and most have three different stripes. There are 55 national flags designed like this. You might also notice that the most popular colors that countries use on their flags are red, white, and blue. It’s interesting to note that one of these colors appears on each and every national flag.

However, Jamaica broke the mold when they decided to switch to a yellow, black and green colored flag in order to honor their own personal Independence Day, which falls on August 6th, 1962. This was when Jamaica became free from Britain. These three colors are rarely found on flags from other nations. 

The color rarely seen on any flags is purple. This is historical in nature, as the purple dye used to be complicated and expensive to come across. In later years, as in the 19th century, when the fake purple dye was invented, most countries had already established their national flags and colors. You will only notice purple today on the flag that belongs to Dominica, which includes a purple parrot, a symbol for their country, in the middle of their chest. 

Another rare color that can’t be found on any more than one flag is the color aquamarine. The Bahamas use this color on their flag to represent the water that is found around their location.

The yellow stripe in their flag is known to symbolize the coastline. The black triangle featured on the flag represents unity and determination of those that live there. This flag is only 45 years old! 

It’s hard to decipher exactly which national flag is the oldest. However, the oldest lasting flag belongs to Denmark. This flag has been used since the 14th century, and is even called “Dannebrog.”

An interesting fact about Denmark is that it is forbidden to insult flags that belong to other countries, although insulting their own flag is fair game.

One of the youngest flags out there belongs to Seychelles. This flag is only 22 years of age, having been adopted in the year 1996. The 5 rays represent energy and light. 

Canada’s flag is also younger in age than most flags. It was made in 1965, making the flag just 53 years old. It’s interesting to note that the maple leaf featured on this flag has 11 points, meaning that this type of leaf doesn’t naturally exist in the wild. This shape was created so the figure looked less distorted from far away and in windy conditions.

The flag of Japan was given a refreshing new look 20 years ago. They altered the proportions, size, and shade of the red dot that can be found in the middle of the flag. 

The flag from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has a special name: the Union Jack. Wales, which is a part of this country, has no representation on this flag. 

Interestingly enough, the Philippines are the only country that has the permission to alter the color of their national flag. In war-like situations, they make the red stripe blue and reverse the blue stripe to be red. 

Paraguay also has a unique type of flag. This flag is two-sided, with one side being the observable side and one side is known as the reverse. The observable side has the country’s coat of arms, while the other side has the seal of their treasury on it.

You might notice that you can observe many weapons, tools, and even animals on a vast array of national flags, but the only flag that depicts a human is the flag from Belize. 

Portugal is the only country with a national flag that pays homage to science. Their flag has an armillary sphere, a specific type of astronomical device. It is meant to symbolize the historic navigators from Portugal and their scientific contributions.

The national flag from the area of Bhutan showcases a beautiful dragon. In Tibetan language, Bhutan means quite literally “the land of the dragon,” so their flag depicts that. The wealth that this country holds is symbolized by the jewelry held by the dragon. 

Although many national flags showcase weapons, the flag from Mozambique showcases a very detailed picture of an AK-47. The gun symbolizes the education and knowledge of the people there that the country is proud of. 

Brazil’s flag is extremely specific. It shows a picture of a sky filled with stars, which is exactly the way the sky looked on November 15th, 1889 at precisely 8:30 in the morning. This is the day when Brazil was declared its own republic. The wording on the flag can be translated to mean “order and progress.” 

Many flags depict the Southern Cross, which is a famous consolation of stars that can be seen only from locations that are below the equator. Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, and New Guinea all note this constellation on their flags. 

It’s simple to understand where the country of Nauru is just by taking a peek at their flag. The yellow stripe across the flag is a symbol of the equator, while the blue represents the Pacific Ocean. The lone star on the flag is the location of the island along the equator. 

The longest flag in the world belongs to Qatar. Its length is double the height, making the proportions 11 to 28. Although the right side of their flag used to be red, the sun kept burning the flag into a brown color, so they altered the color to match this new shade. 

You may notice some similarities between the flags of Monaco and Indonesia. Indonesia celebrated its independence in the year 1945. They decided on a red and white flag. Monaco wasn’t a fan of this idea, because it was too similar to their own flag. You may confuse the two flags because the only part that’s different is their proportions. 

The flags of Romania and Chad have a similar problem between the two of them. Although the shades of blue are different, it’s almost impossible to decipher which is which. 

Although most flags have three stripes, Mauritius features 4 horizontal stripes. The College of Arms of Great Britain designed this particular flag in 1967.

You may notice that there are no modern monochromatic flags. In earlier times, there were. France, Afghanistan, and Libya all had monochromatic flags at different points in their history.

National flags are interesting to study because of their vast differences and also their similarities. Some flags are so uniquely different you’ll know immediately which country they belong to, and some are so similar that you’d have to do a double take. Which fact about the flags surprised you the most? Did you learn anything about your own country’s flag?