The World Flag Chart

¹ Often (but not always) flown by the royal house and the government. ↩

² Flown by anyone. ↩

³ Flag of the Nyasaland African Congress, which sought independence from Great Britain. Direct predecessor of the flag of Malawi. The colony was part of the nominally self-governing Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which had a rarely-used British ensign with the federation coat of arms. ↩

⁴ Flag of the Kenya African Union, which sought independence from Great Britain. Direct predecessor of the modern flag of Kenya. The colony also had a rarely-used British ensign with a red lion badge. ↩

⁵ Flag of the Tanganyika African National Union, which sought independence from Great Britain. Direct predecessor of the 1961 flag of Tanganyika, and by extension the flag of Tanzania. The colony also had a rarely-used British ensign with a giraffe badge. ↩

⁶ Flag of the Convention People's Party, which sought independence from Great Britain. Direct predecessor of the flag of Ghana. The colony also had a rarely-used British ensign with an elephant badge. ↩

⁷ Flown by nationalists and indepenence activists. The French colony in Algeria did not have an official flag. ↩

⁸ Flown for all purposes. ↩

⁹ Often flown alongside the national flag. ↩

¹⁰ Flown by the government, and often by private citizens. At sea, and in certain ceremonial settings on land, the ratio was 1:3. ↩

¹¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. At sea, the ratio was 1:3. ↩

¹² There were many variations of this flag, depending on who was flying it and when. Some versions would have added inscriptions, decorations or royal symbols. The flag could also be triangular. ↩

¹³ Flown by private citizens and municipalities. ↩

¹⁴ Flown by the federal government and the armed forces. ↩

¹⁵ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁶ Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩

¹⁷ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁸ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩

¹⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²⁰ Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships. ↩

²¹ Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military. ↩

²² Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²³ Flown by the government, border guard, and public universities. The armed forces fly a version with a swallowtail cut. ↩

²⁴ Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩

²⁵ Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩

²⁶ Flown by the government, sporting teams and by some private citizens. More or less exclusively a unionist symbol. ↩

²⁷ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²⁸ Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings. ↩

²⁹ Flown by civilian ships. Plain flags without the George Cross were also common. The colonial government had a blue ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it. ↩

³⁰ The traditional Catalan flag. ↩

³¹ The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence. ↩

³² Flown over the Presidential Palace, parliament, provincial legislatures, and other government buildings. Private use highly restricted. ↩

³³ Flown by embassies, airports, and merchant ships. Private use strictly banned. ↩

³⁴ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Estonian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³⁵ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Lithuanian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³⁶ Flown by the diplomatic service in exile and the Latvian disaspora. Flying the national flag was banned under the Soviet occupation. ↩

³⁷ Banned within the People's Republic of China. The "Tibet Area" did not have an official flag. ↩

³⁸ Flown in the Indian-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir. ↩

³⁹ Flown in the Pakistan-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir. ↩

⁴⁰ Flown by nationalists and separatists. The Naga Hills area did not have an official flag within India. ↩

⁴¹ The flag of the Republic of China, the government of Taiwan. Banned on the mainland, as the People's Republic of China claimed sovereignty over the island. Regarded as the flag of China at the United Nations. ↩

⁴² Flown by the communist Pathet Lao government-in-exile in Hanoi. ↩

⁴³ Sarawak also had a blue colonial ensign. ↩

⁴⁴ Flown by Karen nationalists seeking independence and separation from Burma. ↩

⁴⁵ The national flag of the Uyghur people, banned within the People's Republic of China. Xinjiang Region does not have an official flag. ↩

⁴⁶ Not legally the national flag, but allowed to be flown wherever a "distinctive Canadian flag" was needed. ↩

⁴⁷ Flown by the government, the navy, the national police, and national sports teams. Raised at major ceremonies. The army uses a similar flag with a different coat of arms. ↩

⁴⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁴⁹ The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens. ↩

⁵⁰ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices. ↩

⁵¹ The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens. ↩

⁵² The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩

⁵³ Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩

⁵⁴ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁵⁵ A traditional military emblem, ceremonially flown alongside the national flag at government buildings. ↩

⁵⁶ A historic flag, ceremonially flown alongside the national flag at government buildings. ↩

⁵⁷ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩

⁵⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁵⁹ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩

⁶⁰ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩