The Ultimate Reference Guide to Flags of the World

This page is an opinionated reference guide to well over three hundred internationally-recognised flags of the countries (and nearly-countries) of the world, both present and in some cases near past - e.g. USSR, Yugoslavia.
The flags are organised into distinct, logical, but somewhat arbitrary categories, to aid in identification and differentiation, i.e. telling similar flag designs apart based on their decription.
Tap or hover on a flag to see a larger version.

Near the bottom of the page, there are also some sets of State (i.e. sub-national) flags of Australia and of the USA.

How To Identify a flag:

Red, White & Blue Flags

Lets start with "The Original and Best": The flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
Australia:
New Zealand / Aotearoa:
Bouvet Island:
Cambodia:
Farao Islands:
Iceland:
Norway:
Chile:
Cook Islands:
Cuba:
Czechia:
France:
Laos:
Liberia:
Luxembourg:
Nepal:
Netherlands:
North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea {DPRK}):
Panama:
Paraguay:
Puerto Rico:
Russia:
Saint Martin:
Slovakia:
Slovenia:
Svalbard and Jan Mayen:
Taiwan (Republic Of China {ROC}):
Thailand:
United States of America (USA):
United States Minor Outlying Islands:
Wallis and Futuna:
USA/Arkansas:
USA/Hawaii:
USA/Tennessee:
USA/Texas:
USA/Ohio:
USA/Wyoming:

Red, White & Blue Flags - Just Stripes

Cape Verde:
France:
Luxembourg:
Netherlands (aka Holland):
Russia:
Saint Martin:
Thailand:

Red, White, Blue & Yellow/Gold Flags

Kiribati:
Malaysia:
Niue:
USA/North Carolina:
Philipines:
Serbia:
Tuvalu:

Flags that include the Union Flag

( Mostly Commonwealth Countries and Crown Dependencies )

Australia:
New Zealand / Aotearoa:
Anguilla:
Bermuda:
British Antarctic Territory:
British Indian Ocean Territory:
Cayman Islands:
Cook Islands:
Falkland Islands:
Fiji:
USA/Hawaii:
Niue:
Montserrat:
Pitcairn Islands:
Saint Helena, Ascension & St Tristan da Cunha:
South Georgia:
Turks and Caicos Islands:
Tuvalu:
United States of America (First Version):
British Virgin Islands:
Republic of South Africa (1928-1994):
And of course: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

Flags of the British Isles, North to South (approx.)

Shetland:
Orkney:
Sutherland:
Scottish Saltire: (St. Andrew's Cross)
Scottish Royal Standard:
Northern Ireland:
The Four Provinces of Ireland (sometimes used by 'All Ireland' sports teams):
Isle of Man:
Wales:
England: (St. George's Cross)
Scilly Isles:
Guernsey:
Herm:
Sark:
Jersey, Bailiwick of:
And of course: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

Stripes & A Badge

Afghanistan:
Andorra:
Angola:
Barbados:
Bolivia:
Brunei:
Cambodia:
Costa Rica:
Ecuador:
Egypt:
Gibraltar:
Haiti:
Iran:
Lesotho:
Liechtenstein:
Mexico:
Moldova:
Mongolia:
Nicaragua:
Portugal:
San Marino:
Serbia:
Slovakia:
Slovenia:
Spain:

Just Stripes

Armenia:
Austria:
Belgium:
Botswana:
Bulgaria:
Chad:
Colombia:
Republic of the Congo:
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast):
Estonia:
France:
Gabon:
Gambia:
Germany:
Guinea:
Hungary:
Indonesia:
Italy:
Latvia:
Lithuania:
Luxembourg:
Mali:
Mauritius:
Monaco:
Netherlands:
Nigeria:
Peru:
Poland:
Romania:
Russia:
Saint Martin:
Sierra Leone:
Thailand:
Trinidad and Tobago:
Ukraine:
Yemen:

Southern Cross (constellation)

Australia:
Brazil:
Heard Island and McDonald Islands:
Papua New Guinea:
Samoa:
Tokelau:
New Zealand / Aotearoa:

Pole Star (Polaris) / The Plough (constellation)

USA/Alaska:

Stars that represent Islands

Tuvalu:
Solomon Islands:
Micronesia:
Cook Islands:
Christmas Island:
Cocos Islands:

Flags with a Single Star, and a Single Crescent

Azerbaijan:
Libya:
Malaysia:
Mauritania:
Pakistan:
Tunisia:
Turkey:

Suns

Antigua and Barbuda:
Argentina:
Guadeloupe:
Rwanda:
Taiwan:
Uruguay:
USA/New Mexico:

Flags with Several Stars, and a Crescent

Comoros:
Singapore:
Turkmenistan:
Uzbekistan:

Just Red and White

Austria:
Bahrain:
Denmark:
England:
Georgia:
Gibraltar:
Greenland:
Hong Kong:
Indonesia:
Isle of Man:
Japan:
Jersey:
Malta:
Monaco:
Northern Ireland:
Peru:
Poland:
Singapore:

Green, Yellow & Red - Mostly African Flags

Benin:
Bolivia:
Cameroon:
Congo, Republic of:
Ethiopia:
French Guiana:
Ghana:
Guinea:
Guinea-Bissau:
Guyana:
Lithuania:
Mali:
Myanmar:
Senegal:
Togo:
Zimbabwe:

Green, Yellow & Red Flags - Just Stripes

Congo, Republic of:
Guinea:
Lithuania:
Mali:

Flags with Diagonal Stripes

Brunei:
Congo, Republic of:
DR Congo:
Namibia:
Saint Kitts and Nevis:
Solomon Islands:
Tanzania:
Trinidad and Tobago:

Flags with Diagonal Crosses

Burundi:
Scotland / Alba:
Jersey:
Jamaica:

Offset / "Nordic" Crosses

Åland Islands:
Bouvet Island:
Denmark:
Farao Islands:
Finland:
Iceland:
Norway:
Orkney:
Shetland:
Sutherland:
Svalbard and Jan Mayen:
Sweden:

Other Crosses

Aruba:
Dominica:
Dominican Republic:
Fiji:
Georgia:
Greece:
Guernsey:
Malta:
Saint Pierre & Miquelon:
Slovakia:
Switzerland:
Tonga:
USA/Maryland:

Left-Side Triangles

Bahamas:
Catalonia:
Comoros:
Cuba:
Czechia:
Djibouti:
Equatorial Guinea:
Eritrea:
Guyana:
Jordan:
(Kuwait):
Martinique:
Mozambique:
Palestine:
Philipines:
Puerto Rico:
Sao Tomé and Príncipe:
Sint Maarten:
South Africa:
South Sudan:
Sudan:
Timor-Leste:
Western Sahara:
Zimbabwe:

Right-Side Triangles

American Samoa:

Upward-Pointing Triangles

Réunion:
Saint Lucia:

Flags with Crowns

Croatia:
Liechtenstein:
Serbia:
Spain:
Tajikistan:
Vatican City (Holy See):

Flags with Weapons

Angola: (Machete)
Barbados: (Trident)
Guatemala: (Crossed swords plus Crossed Rifles)
Haiti: (Two Cannons, two Axes)
Mozambique: (An AK47 assault rifle)
Oman: (A Khanjar over two crossed daggers)
Saudi Arabia: (A straight sword)
Sri Lanka: (A Kastane / short sabre)

Heraldic Shields

Anguilla:
Cayman Islands:
Croatia:
Falkland Islands:
Fiji:
Montserrat:
Portugal:
Saint Barthélemy:
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha:
Serbia:
Slovakia:
Slovenia:
South Georgia:
Spain:
Turks and Caicos Islands:
British Virgin Islands:
United States Virgin Islands:

Actual (Zulu) Shields

Eswatini:
Kenya:

Flags with a Map

Antarctica:
Cyprus:
Kosovo:
Christmas Island:

Flags with Leaves and Trees

Belize:
Bolivia:
Canada:
Cocos Islands:
Cyprus:
Equatorial Guinea:
Eritrea:
Fiji:
Grenada:
Guam:
Haiti:
Lebanon:
Madagascar:
Mexico (cactus):
Norfolk Island:
Peru:
Vanuatu:
USA/South Carolina:
USA/Vermont:

Dragons

Wales:
Bhutan:

Lions

British Antarctic Territory:
Fiji:
Scottish Royal Standard:
Spain:
Sri Lanka:

Eagles

American Samoa:
Albania:
Bolivia:
Ecuador:
Egypt:
Kazakhstan:
Montenegro:
Moldova:
Mexico:
United States Virgin Islands:
Zambia:
Zimbabwe:

Flags with other types of Bird

Andean Condor: Ecuador:
Raggiana Bird of Paradise: Papua New Guinea:
Frigate Bird: Kiribati:
Golden Bosun Bird: Christmas Island:
Penguin: British Antarctic Territory: Uganda: Grey-Crowned Crane:

Other Creatures

Dolphins: Anguilla:

Flags with Crescents

Algeria:
Azerbaijan:
Cocos Islands:
Comoros:
Malaysia:
Maldives:
Mauritania:
Pakistan:
Singapore:
Turkey:
Turkmenistan:
USA/South Carolina:
Uzbekistan:
Western Sahara:

Flags with Buildings

Afghanistan:
Bolivia:
Cambodia:
Gibraltar:
Portugal:
San Marino:
Spain:
Edinburgh City: (A stylised version of Edinburgh Castle)
Edinburgh Rugby: (A very stylised version of Edinburgh Castle overlaid on a rugby ball)

Waves

Saint Pierre and Miquelon:
Kiribati:
British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Islands; most notably: Diego Garcia):

Words & Writing

The countries own name

Bolivia:
Paraguay:
Nicaragua:
El Salvador:

Mottoes 'n such

Andorra: Virtus Unita Fortior ("United virtue is stronger")
Brazil: "Ordem e Progresso" ("Order and Progress")
Brunei: "Always in service with God's guidance" (In Arabic)
Dominican Republic: "Dios, Patria, Libertad" (God, Homeland, Liberty)
El Salvador: "DIOS UNIÓN LIBERTAD" ("God, Union, Liberty")
Equatorial Guinea: Trabajo (work), and Unidad, Paz, Justicia (Unity, Peace, Justice)
Guatemala: "LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821" ("Liberty 15th of September 1821")
Haiti: "L'union fait la force" ("Unity creates strength")
Iran: "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Great")
Iraq: "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Great")
San Marino: "Libertas" ("Freedom")
Saudi Arabia: The Shahada, "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God"
Spain: "Plus Ultra" ("Further Beyond")

Flags with Just Two Colours

The EU:
Albania:
Antarctica:
Austria:
Bahrain:
Bangladesh:
China:
Cornwall:
Denmark:
England:
Scottish Saltire:
Scottish Royal Standard:
Finland:
Georgia:
Greece:
Greenland:
Honduras:
Indonesia:
Isle of Man:
Japan (Imperial):
Kyrgyzstan:
Latvia:
Micronesia:
Monaco:
Morocco:
Nigeria:
Pakistan:
Palau:
Peru:
Poland:
Qatar:
Saudi Arabia:
Singapore:
Somalia:
Sweden:
Switzerland:
Tonga:
Tunisia:
Turkey:
USSR:
Ukraine:
Vietnam:

Flags with Just a Dot

Japan:
Bangladesh:
Palau:
( Greenland ):

Flags with Just a Star

Somalia:
Vietnam:

Opposites Attract

Austria vs Lebanon vs French Polynesia:
vs vs
Austria vs Latvia:
vs
Armenia vs Colombia:
vs
Belgium vs Germany vs Uganda:
vs vs
Benin vs Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau vs Ghana:
vs vs vs
Bulgaria vs Lithuania:
vs
Canada vs Peru:
vs
Cook Islands vs The EU vs Cape Verde:
vs vs
Cuba vs Puerto Rico:
vs
El Salvador vs Guatemala vs Honduras vs Nicaragua:
vs vs vs
France vs Italy:
vs
France vs Netherlands vs Luxembourg vs Croatia:
vs vs vs
Georgia vs England vs N.Ireland vs Guernsey vs Denmark:
vs vs vs vs
Ghana vs Myanmar (formerly Burma):
vs
Greece vs Uruguay:
vs
Hungary vs Yemen:
vs
Italy vs Republic of Ireland ( Eire ) vs Cote de Ivoire:
vs vs
India vs Niger:
vs
Jersey vs USA/Alabama vs USA/Florida:
vs vs
Laos vs Belize:
vs
Liberia vs Chile vs Malaysia:
vs vs
Monaco vs Poland vs Indonesia vs Singapore:
vs vs vs
North Macedonia vs Japan (Imperial) vs USA/Arizona:
vs vs
Nigeria vs Norfolk Island: vs Lebanon:
vs vs
Netherlands vs Luxembourg vs Hungary:
vs vs
Iceland vs Norway vs Orkney:
vs vs
Philipines vs Taiwan:
vs
Quatar (9 'spikes') vs Bahrain (5 'spikes'):
vs
Scotland / Alba vs Tenerife
vs
Solomon Islands vs Tanzania:
vs:
Somalia vs Vietnam:
vs:
South Africa vs Zimbabwe vs Vanuatu:
vs:

Slovakia vs Russia vs Slovenia:
vs vs
Sudan vs Jordan vs Palestine vs Kuwait vs UAE vs Western Sahara vs Martinique
vs vs vs vs vs vs
Syria: Assad era: vs Independant era:
Niger vs Republic of South Africa (1928-1994):
vs
Thailand vs Costa Rica:
vs
Tonga vs Switzerland:
vs
Tunisia vs Turkey:
vs
Uzbekistan vs Azerbaijan:
vs
Venezuela vs Ecuador vs Colombia:
vs vs
Yemen vs Syria (Assad era) vs Iraq vs Egypt:
vs vs vs
Yugoslavia vs Paraguay:
vs

Unique in some way

Non-Rectangular Shape: Nepal:
Non-Rectangular Shape: USA/Ohio:
Double-Sided: Paraguay: Front: Reverse:
Double-Sided: USA/Oregon: Front: Reverse:
Most Colourful basic design (six colours): South Africa:
(No other flag has more than five basic colours, few have more than four.)
The only flag that includes, but then modifies/adds to the Union Flag: Niue:

Most basic/boring flag designs

"Must try harder!"

Indonesia:
Monaco:
Poland:
Ukraine:

Not actually a Country

Antarctica:
The European Union:
Japanese armed forces (often incorrectly believed to be obsolete):
NATO / OTAN (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation):
United Nations:
Vatican City (Holy See):

All Australian State Flags

Australian Capital Territory:
Northern Territory:
South Australia:
Victoria:
New South Wales:
Queensland:
Tasmania:
Western Australia:

All US State Flags

Alaska:
Alabama:
Arkansas:
Arizona:
California:
Colorado:
Conneticut:
Delaware:
Florida:
Georgia:
Hawaii:
Iowa:
Idaho:
Illinois:
Indiana:
Kansas:
Kentucky:
Louisiana:
Massachusetts:
Maryland:
Maine:
Michigan:
Minnessota - Old:
Minnessota - 2024:
Mississippi:
Montana:
North Carolina:
North Dakota:
Nebraska:
New Hampshire:
New Jersey:
New Mexico:
Nevada:
New York:
Ohio:
Oklahoma:
Oregon: Front: Reverse:
Pennsylvania:
Rhode Island:
South Carolina:
South Dakota:
Tennessee:
Texas:
Utah:
Virginia:
Vermont:
Washington:
Wisconsin:
West Virginia:
Wyoming:

Opposites Attract - USA Only

Alabama vs Florida:
vs
North Carolina vs Texas:
vs
North Carolina vs Georgia:
vs
Iowa vs Missouri
vs

Obsolete Flags

USA/Minnessota:
Republic of South Africa (1928-1994):
Syria: Assad era:
USSR:
United Kingdom (1707 to 1800)
Note the lack of Northern Irelands diagonal red cross:
United States of America (First Version):
Yugoslavia:

Most flag images courtesy of: flagpedia.net