All 193 member states and 2 General Assembly non-member observer states of the United Nations, in addition to several de facto states, represent themselves with national flags. National flags generally contain symbolism of their respective state, and serve as an emblem which distinguishes themselves from other states in international politics. National flags are adopted by governments to strengthen national bonds and legitimate formal authority. Such flags may contain symbolic elements of their peoples, militaries, territories, rulers, and dynasties. The flag of Denmark is the oldest flag still in current use as it has been recognized as a national symbol since the 13th century.
Background and definitions
According to the Collins English Dictionary, a national flag is "a flag that represents or is an emblem of a country". The word country can be used to refer to a nation-state or sovereign state, sometimes also called an independent state, though a country may also be a sub-division of a sovereign state, such as with the United Kingdom consisting of a union of four countries or nations — specifically two kingdoms (the countries of England and Scotland), a principality (the country of Wales), and a province (Northern Ireland). It is customary in international law that nation-states adopt a flag to distinguish themselves from other states.
National flags are considered to "provide perhaps the strongest, clearest statement of national identity," and governments have used them to promote and create bonds within the country, motivate patriotism, honor the efforts of citizens, and legitimate formal authority. Throughout history, elements within flags have been used to symbolize rulers, dynasties, territories, militaries, and peoples of their respective countries. Flags also conceptually represent a country's core values, such as group membership and love for the country. In 1975, American vexillologist Whitney Smith stated thus regarding the role of flags in society:
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a sovereign state is "a state or nation with a defined territory and a permanent population, which administers its own government, and which is recognized as not subject to or dependent upon another power." The amount of sovereign states in the world is generally derived from the number of member states of the United Nations (UN), although non-member states do exist, with such states being called de facto states. As of 2024, the UN currently includes 193 member states and 2 permanent observer states: Palestine and Vatican City. De facto states include Northern Cyprus, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, Kosovo, the Sahrawi Republic, Somaliland, and Taiwan.
The oldest flag of a sovereign state which is currently in use is the flag of Denmark, which has been recognized as a national symbol of the country since the 13th century, although the current version was officially adopted in 1867. All 193 member states and 2 observer states are represented by their respective flags at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.
Flags of UN member states and General Assembly non-member observer states
+ Flag(s)StateDate of latest adoptionDesigner(s)DescriptionAfghanistanWhite with a black Shahada in Thuluth script in the center. Hoist side depicted to right.Three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), red, and green, with the national emblem in white centered on the red band and slightly overlapping the other 2 bands.AlbaniaRed with a black double-headed eagle in the center.AlgeriaDisputedTwo equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary.AndorraNapoleon IIIThree vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the yellow band is slightly wider than the other 2 so that the ratio of band widths is 8:9:8The civil flag with the national coat of arms of Andorra centered in the yellow bandAngolaTwo equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle).Antigua and BarbudaRed, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band.ArgentinaThree equal horizontal bands of sky blue (top), white, and sky blue.Three equal horizontal bands of sky blue (top), white, and sky blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face (delineated in brown) known as the Sun of May.Armenia Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange.Australia
Blue with the flag of the United Kingdom in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small, five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars.AustriaThree equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and redThe civil flag with the coat of arms of Austria in the centerAzerbaijanThree equal horizontal bands of sky blue (top), red, and green; a vertical crescent moon and an eight-pointed star in white are centered in the red band.Three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side.BahrainRed with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side.BangladeshGreen field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center.BarbadosThree equal vertical bands of ultramarine blue (hoist side), gold, and ultramarine blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band.BelarusRed horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red.Belgium Three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red.Belize Royal blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms.BeninTwo equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side.BhutanMayeum Choying Wangmo DorjiDivided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is yellow and the lower triangle is orange; centered along the dividing line is a large black and white Druk facing away from the hoist side.BoliviaThree equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green.The civil flag with the coat of arms of Bolivia centered wholly in the yellow bandA grid of 49 squares distributed in 7 columns by 7 rows, arranged in diagonal bands of 7 colors (white, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green) with white on the main diagonal.Bosnia and Herzegovina
A wide blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle.BotswanaLight blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center.Brazil
Green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue globe with 27 white stars (one for each state and the Federal District) arranged as in the sky over Rio de Janeiro at 8:30 a.m. on November 15, 1889, and containing a banner with the national motto ().BruneiYellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center.Bulgaria