vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...

, a state flag is either the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

of a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined ter ...

, or the flag of an individual

federated state A federated state (which may also be referred to as a state, a province, a region, a canton, a land, a governorate, an oblast, an emirate or a country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. Such sta ...

(subnational administrative division).

Government flag

A state flag is a variant of a

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours a ...

(or occasionally a completely different design) specifically designated and restricted by law or custom (theoretically or actually) to use by a country's government or its agencies. For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as ''government flags''. In many countries the state flag and the

civil flag A civil flag is a version of the national flag that is flown by civilians on nongovernmental installations or craft. The use of civil flags was more common in the past to denote buildings or ships not crewed by the military. In some countries, t ...

(as flown by the general public) are identical, but in other countries, notably those in Latin America, central Europe, and Scandinavia, the state flag is a more complex version of the national flag, often featuring the national

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

or some other emblem as part of the design. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to further differentiate them from civil flags. In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by non-military government ships such as

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem. The e ...

. State flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organizations; these are referred to as

war flag A war flag, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few count ...

s and

naval ensign A naval ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by naval ships of various countries to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from a country's civil ensign or state ensign. It can also be known as a war ensign. A large ve ...

National flags with separate state and civil versions

Flag of a federated state (subnational entity)

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, and some other federalized countries, the term state flag can have a different usage, as it frequently refers to an official flag of any of the individual states or territorial subdivisions that make up the nation. To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would be more precisely referred to as "the flag of the state of X", rather than "the state flag of X". For this usage, see also: * Flags of the Australian states * Flags of the Austrian states * Flags of the Brazilian states * Flags of the German states * Flags of the Malaysian states * Flags of the Mexican states * Flags of Pakistani provinces and territories *

Flags of the U.S. states and territories The flags of the U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) exhibit a variety of regional influences and local histories, as well as different styles and design principles. Modern U.S. state flags date from the tur ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:State Flag Types of flags fi:Suomen lippu#Valtiolippu