A triband is a

vexillological 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. A person who studi ...

style which consists of three stripes arranged to form a

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

. These stripes may be two or three colours, and may be charged with an emblem in the middle stripe. Not all tribands are tricolour flags, which requires three unique colours.

Design

Outside of the name, which requires three bands of colour, there are no other requirements for what a triband must look like, so there are many flags that look very different from each other but are all considered tribands. Some triband flags (e.g. those of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

) have their stripes positioned horizontally, while others (e.g. that of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) position the stripes vertically. Often the stripes on a triband are of equal length and width, though this is not always the case, as can be seen in the flags of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Symbols on tribands may be

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

, such as on the Belizean flag, or any manner of emblems of significance to the area the flag represents, such as in the flags of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Tricolour

A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, or

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

. The oldest tricolour flag originates from

, whose successor’s design later inspired the French and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

flags. The flags of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

were all adopted with the formation of an independent

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

in the period of the French Revolution to the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, with the exception of the Irish tricolour, which dates from 1848 but was not popularised until the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

in 1916 and adopted in 1919.

History

The first association of the tricolour with republicanism is the orange-white-blue design of the

Prince's Flag The Prince's Flag () is a tricolour Dutch flag, first used in the Dutch Revolt during the late 16th century. The Prince's Flag is based on the flag of William the Silent, hence the name. The colours are orange, white and blue. On the basis ...

(''Prinsenvlag'', precursor of the

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

), first depicted 1575 and used by

William I of Orange-Nassau William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

in the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

, establishing the independence of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

from the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. Its red-white-blue successor is the oldest tricolour flag still in use. The flag of the Netherlands inspired both the French and Russian flags, which in turn further inspired many tricolour flags in other countries. Though not the first tricolour flag, one of the most famous, known as ''Le Tricolore'', is the blue, white and red (whence also called ''Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge'')

flag of France The national flag of France () is a Tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue (Flag terminology#Description of standard flag parts and terms, hoist side), white, and red. The design was adopted after the French Rev ...

adopted in 1790 during the French Revolution. Based on a 1789 design of the

Cockade of France The cockade of France () is the national ornament of France, obtained by circularly pleating a blue, white and red ribbon. It is composed of the three colors of the French flag, with blue in the center, white immediately outside and red on the e ...

, it was easy to construct and also stood in a visual opposition to complicated royal banners of the ''Ancien Regime''. With the formation of

French client republic Sister republics (, ) were republics established by the French First Republic or local pro-French revolutionaries during the French Revolutionary Wars. Though nominally independent, sister republics were heavily reliant on French protection, m ...

s after 1795, the revolutionary tricolour was exported and adopted more widely in Europe, by the

Republic of Alba The Republic of Alba () was a revolutionary municipality proclaimed on 26 April 1796, in Alba, Piedmont, when the town was taken by the French army. The municipality had a very short life of only 2 days because, with the Armistice of Cherasco ...

1796 (red-blue-yellow), the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...

1797 (

Transpadane Republic The Transpadane Republic () was a sister republic of France established in Milan from 1796 to 1797. History On 10 May 1796, the French army defeated the Austrian troops in the Battle of Lodi, and occupied the Duchy of Milan. Napoleon set up a ...

, green-white-red), the

Cisrhenian Republic The Cisrhenian Republic () was a proposed client state of France during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1797. It was intended to be established on the Left Bank of the Rhine which was under French occupation at the time. However, the Coup of 18 ...

1797 (green-white-red), the

Anconine Republic The Anconine Republic () was a revolutionary municipality formed on 19 November 1797. It came about after a French victory at Ancona in February 1797, and the consequent occupation of the city.Philip's Atlas of World History It existed in the r ...

1797 (blue-yellow-red), the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

1798 (black-white-red), the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

1798 (green-red-yellow;

canton of Neuchatel Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an I ...

1848), the

Parthenopean Republic The Parthenopean Republic (, ) or Neapolitan Republic () was a short-lived, semi-autonomous republic located within the Kingdom of Naples and supported by the French First Republic. The republic emerged during the French Revolutionary Wars after ...

1799 (blue-yellow-red), and the

Principality of Lucca and Piombino The Principality of Lucca and Piombino was created in July 1805 by Napoleon I for his sister Elisa Bonaparte. It was a state located on the central Italian Peninsula (present-day Italy) and was a client state of Napoleonic France. Formation The ...

1805 (blue-white-red). Thus providing the format for many of modern Europe's national flags, from the

flag of Italy The flag of Italy (, ), often referred to as The Tricolour (, ), is a flag featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side, as defined by Article 12 of the Constitution of t ...

, to the

flag of Germany The national flag of Germany () is a tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: Sable (heraldry), black, Gules, red, and Or (heraldry), gold (). The flag was first sight ...

flag of Ireland The national flag of Republic of Ireland, Ireland (), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour, is a vertical Tricolour (flag), tricolour of green (at the Flag terminology#Description of sta ...

flag of Belgium The national flag of the Kingdom of Belgium is a Tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of three equal vertical bands displaying the national colours: black, yellow, and red. The colours were taken from the coat of arms of the Duchy of Brabant, a ...

flag of Romania The national flag of Romania () is a Tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equal vertical bands colored blue (at the flagpole), yellow and red, with a width to length ratio of 2:3. The current version was adopted in 1989 in the wake of t ...

flag of Bulgaria The national flag of the Republic of Bulgaria is a tricolour consisting of three equal-sized horizontal bands of (from top to bottom) white, green, and red. The flag was first adopted after the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, when Bulgaria gained ...

, flag of Moldova, and others around the world such as the

flag of India The national flag of India, Colloquialism, colloquially called Tiraṅgā (the tricolour), is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag, the colours being of India Saffron (color)#Political & religious uses, saffron, white and Variations of gree ...

flag of Cameroon The national flag of Cameroon () was adopted in its present form on 20 May 1975 after Cameroon became a unitary state. It is a vertical tricolour of green, red and yellow Pale (heraldry), pales, with a yellow five-pointed star in its center. The ...

flag of Chad The national flag of Chad is a vertical tricolour of indigo, yellow, and red. It was adopted on 6 November 1959, almost a year after the founding of the autonomous Republic of Chad. Since the 1990s, its similarity to the flag of Romania has ca ...

flag of Ivory Coast The national flag of Ivory Coast () is a tricolour flag consisting of equal bands of orange, white, and green. The proportions of the flag are 2:3. It is the national emblem of the Republic of Ivory Coast as affirmed in Article 29 of the Const ...

flag of Gabon The flag of Gabon () is a tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of three horizontal green, yellow, and blue bands. Adopted in 1960 to replace the previous colonial flag containing the Flag of France, French Tricolour at the Canton (flag), canton ...

flag of Guinea The national flag of Guinea () is a triband (flag), triband of red, yellow, and green. It was adopted on 10 November 1958, with the publication of the country's first Constitution of Guinea, Constitution. Design The colors of the flag were a ...

flag of Mali The national flag of Mali () is a tricolour (flag), tricolour with three equal vertical stripes. From the hoist (the place where the flagpole meets the flag) the colours are green, gold (colour), gold, and red, the pan-African colours. The flag ...

, and

flag of Nigeria The flag of Nigeria was designed by Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi and was officially adopted to represent Nigeria at midnight on 1 October 1960, the Independence Day (Nigeria), day the country gained independence. The flag was chosen as part of a ...

. The green-white-red tricolour remained a symbol of republicanism throughout the 19th century and was adopted as

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

by a number of states following the

. It was also adopted by the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

(inherited by the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

1861). The

(black-red-gold) originates from the uniform colours of the

Lützow Free Corps Lützow Free Corps ( ) was a volunteer force of the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was named after its commander, Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow. The Corpsmen were also widely known as the “''Lützower Jäger''“ or “''Schwa ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, which contained volunteers from many German states and became famous through propaganda. Prominent veterans and later students became the core of the republican movement of early 1800s which adopted the colours. At the time the flag was known as ''Dreifarb'', a German

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...

of ''Tricolore''. It was a symbol of opposition against the German ''

Kleinstaaterei The word (, "small-statewiktionary:-ery#English, -ery") is a pejorative term coined in the early nineteenth century to denote the territorial fragmentation of Germany. The term also refers to the exclusion of Austria from the formation ...

'' and the desire for

German Unification The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). It commenced ...

. It was at first illegal in the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

, but was adopted as the national flag at the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The ...

of 1848/9. The

was introduced in a similar context, in 1831, its colours taken from the flag used in the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (, ), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed revolution, insurrection that occurred in the Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) between O ...

of 1789. The first national flag of the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

inspired by this symbolism was the

flag of Mexico The national flag, national flag of Mexico () is a vertical Tricolour (flag), tricolor of green, white, and red with Coat of arms of Mexico, the national coat of arms charge (heraldry), charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meani ...

, adopted when the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...

gained independence from Spain in 1821. After 1848, the young republican

nation state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the State (polity), state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly ...

s continued to pick triband designs, but now more prevalently expressing the sentiment of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

ethnic identity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

than anti-monarchism, the

flag of Hungary The national flag of Hungary () is a horizontal tricolour (flag), tricolour of red, white and green. In this exact form, it has been the official flag of Hungary since 23 May 1957. The flag's form originates from national republican movements of ...

(1848), the

flag of Estonia The national flag of Estonia () is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equal horizontal triband (flag), bands of blue at the top, black in the centre, and white at the bottom. The flag is called () in Estonian. The tricolour was alrea ...

(1880s), the

flag of Lithuania The national flag of Lithuania () consists of a horizontal tricolour of yellow, green, and red. It was adopted on 25 April 1918 during Lithuania's first period of independence (1918–1940), which ceased with the occupation first by the Soviet ...

(1905), and the

flag of Armenia The national flag of Armenia (), also known as the Tricolour (), consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, red on the top, blue in the middle, and orange on the bottom. The Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted the current flag on 24 August 1 ...

(1918). By contrast, the

flag of Russia The national flag of the Russia, Russian Federation (, ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal bands: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The design was first introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1693, and in 1705 ...

was adopted by the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

in the late 17th century and while it may or may not have been inspired by the Dutch tricolour, it never had any republican implications. The political ideology of the unification of an ethnic

associated with tricolour flags since the 19th century has resulted in the design of new "tricolours" expressing specific

s in the 20th century, the Pan-African colours adopted in the 1920s for

Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atla ...

, chosen in numerous African flags during

decolonisation Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...

(green-yellow-red, taken from the triband design used by the Solomonic dynasty for the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak a ...

since 1897). The

Pan-Arab colours The pan-Arab colors are black, white, green and red. Individually, each of the four pan-Arab colors were intended to represent a certain aspect of the Arabs, Arab people and their history. History The four colors derive their potency from a v ...

adopted in

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

1916 are a comparable concept, even though they combine four, not three, colours. Also in the 20th century, Pan-Iranian colours for

Iranian nationalism Iranian nationalism is nationalism among the people of Iran and individuals whose national identity is Iranian. Iranian nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments centered around support for Iranian culture, Iranian lan ...

and

Pan-Slavic colours The pan-Slavic colors—blue, white and red—were defined by the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848, based on the symbolism of the colors of the flag of Russia, which was introduced in the late 17th century. Historically, however, many Slavic ...

for Slavic nationalism were adopted based on the triband design of the flags used during the 19th century by the

Qajar dynasty The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...

and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, respectively. During the brief

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

, a red-yellow-purple tricolour was adopted as its official flag. Today, it is still used by Spanish republicans. The

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

in 1931 also adopted a tricolour (loan-translated as Hindi, तिरंगा ''Tiraṅgā'') in the traditional symbolism of "national unification" and republican "self-rule" (

Purna Swaraj The Declaration of Purna Swaraj was a resolution which was passed in 1930 because of the dissatisfaction among the Indian masses regarding the British offer of Dominion status to India. The word Purna Swaraj was derived , or Declaration of ...

), adopted as the flag of the India in 1947. In 1999, a red, green, and blue tricolour was proposed as the

Flag of Mars A flag of Mars is a concept of a possible flag design, meant to symbolize the planet Mars or to represent a fictional Martian government, in works of fiction. Proposed flags Thomas O. Paine's design Thomas O. Paine, who served as the third Admi ...

. The design symbolises

, and also the

terraforming of Mars The terraforming of Mars or the terraformation of Mars is a hypothetical procedure that would consist of a planetary engineering project or concurrent projects aspiring to transform Mars from a planet hostile to life to one that could sustai ...

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

ity from a red planet to a green one, and eventually an Earth-like blue one.

Gallery

File:Flag of Afghanistan (2013–2021).svg, The

flag of Afghanistan The national flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (; ), adopted on 15 August 2021 due to the Taliban's victory in the 2001–2021 war, features a white field with a black ''Shahada'' inscribed. Since the 20th century, Afghanistan has cha ...

(2013–2021), a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Afghanistan (17 Jan 1929 - 13 Oct 1929).svg, The

(1929), a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Afghanistan (1928-1929) (variant).svg, Variant of the

(1928–1929), a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Afghanistan (1928–1929).svg, The

(1928–1929), a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Afghanistan (1928).svg, The

(1928), a charged horizontal triband. File:1824 Flag.svg, The Alamo Flag, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of the Republic of Alba.svg, The flag of the

(1796), a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of the Republic of Alba (variant).svg, Variant flag of the

(1796), a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Italian Committee of National Liberation.svg, The flag of the Italian

National Liberation Committee The National Liberation Committee (, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationist forces of the ...

(1944), a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Albany, New York.svg, The flag of Albany, New York, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Anaheim, California (2018–present).svg, The flag of

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

(2018–2019), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Andorra.svg, The flag of Andorra, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Arabia.svg, The flag of the Arabian Republican movement, a simple horizontal triband. File:Kurdish flag (Khoiboun).svg, The flag of the

Republic of Ararat The Republic of Ararat, also known as the Kurdish Republic of Ararat,Abbas Vali, ''Essays on the origins of Kurdish nationalism'', Mazda Publishers, 2003, p. 199./ref> was a self-proclaimed Kurdish people, Kurdish state from 1927 to 1931. It w ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Argentina.svg, The

flag of Argentina The national flag of the Argentine Republic, often referred to as the Argentine flag (), is a triband (flag), triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue and white. There are multiple interpretations on the reas ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Armenia.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Austria.svg, The

flag of Austria The national flag of Austria () is a triband in the following order: red, white, and red. The Austrian flag is considered one of the oldest national symbols still in use by a modern country, with its first recorded use in 1230. The Austrian ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:State flag of Austria (1934–1938).svg, The flag of the

Federal State of Austria The Federal State of Austria (; colloquially known as the "") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and politi ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg, The

flag of Azerbaijan The national flag of Azerbaijan (), often referred to as the tricolour flag (), is a horizontal tricolour that features three equally sized bars of bright blue, red, and green; a white crescent; and a centred eight-pointed star. The flag has ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Barbados.svg, The

flag of Barbados The flag of Barbados was designed by Grantley W. Prescod and was officially adopted to represent Barbados at midnight on 30 November 1966, the Independence Day, day the country gained independence. The flag was chosen as part of a nation ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Belgium.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of Belize.svg, The

flag of Belize The flag of Belize was adopted on 21 September 1981, the September Celebrations, day Belize became independent. It consists of the coat of arms of Belize on a blue field with red stripes at the top and bottom. British Honduras obtained a coat ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Biafra.svg, The

flag of Biafra The flag of Biafra, used by the Republic of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War, Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), consists of a horizontal Tricolour (flag), tricolour of red, black, and green, charged with a golden rising sun over a golden ba ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Birmingham, Alabama.svg, The

flag of Birmingham, Alabama The city flag of Birmingham was designed by Idyl King Sorsby for the occasion of the semicentennial of the city of Birmingham in 1921. The flag was officially adopted as the city's flag on August 18, 1925. Design The flag consists of a vert ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Bisexual Pride Flag.svg, The

bisexual pride flag The bisexual flag, also called the bisexual pride flag, is a pride flag representing bisexuality, bisexual individuals and the bisexual community. According to Michael Page, the activist who created the flag based on a color palette designed ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Bolivia (state).svg, The

flag of Bolivia The national flag of the Plurinational State of Bolivia was originally adopted in 1851. The state and war flag is a horizontal tricolour (flag), tricolor of red, yellow and green with the Coat of Arms of Bolivia, Bolivian coat of arms in the ce ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Borough of the Bronx.svg, The flag of

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Cabinda Province.svg, The flag of

Cabinda Province Cabinda (formerly called Portuguese Congo, ) is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by several political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda, known locally as ''Tchiowa'', ''Tsi ...

, Angola, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Cambodia.svg, The

flag of Cambodia The national flag of Cambodia () or the Khmer people, Khmer national flag () in its present form was originally adopted in 1948 and readopted in 1993, after the 1993 Cambodian Constituent Assembly election, Constituent Assembly election in 19 ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Cameroon.svg, The

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg, The

flag of Canada The National Flag of Canada (), popularly referred to as The Maple Leaf or l'Unifolié (), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in which is featured one stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf Charge (hera ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Chad.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of the Cispadane Republic.svg, The flag of the

Cispadane Republic The Cispadane Republic () was a short-lived client republic located in northern Italy, founded in 1796 with the protection of the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. In the following year, it was merged with the Transpadane Republic (formerl ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Coahuila y Tejas.svg, The flag of

Coahuila y Tejas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) f ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Bandera de la Provincia de Coclé.svg, The flag of

Coclé Province Coclé () is a province of central Panama on the nation's southern coast. The administrative capital is the city of Penonomé. This province was created by the Act of September 12, 1855 with the title of Department of Coclé during the presidenc ...

, Panama, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Colombia.svg, The flag of Colombia, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Colorado.svg, The

flag of Colorado The flag of the U.S. state of Colorado was officially adopted on June 5, 1911. The flag, designed by Andrew Carlisle Carson, consists of a fess design of three horizontal stripes of equal width, with the top and bottom stripes colored blue, a ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Colorado (1911–1964).svg, The

(1911–1964), a charged horizontal triband. File:Conway AR Flag.gif, The flag of

Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. The city also serves as a regional shopping, ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Crimea.svg, The

flag of Crimea The flag of Crimea (; ; ) is the flag of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine and the Republic of Crimea controlled by Russia. The flag was officially adopted on 24 September 1992 as the flag of the Republic of Crimea, readopted on 21 ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Croatia.svg, The

flag of Croatia The national flag of the Republic of Croatia, also known in Croatian as the ''Tricolor'' (), is one of the state symbols of Croatia. It consists of three equal size, horizontal stripes in colors red, white and blue anchored by the coat of a ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Croatia (1947–1990).svg, The flag of

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Curaçao.svg, The flag of Curaçao, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Dallas.svg, The flag of Dallas, Texas, a charged horizontal triband. File:Texas Dodson Flag.svg, The Dodson Flag, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Herat until 1842.svg, The flag of the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Dutch West India Company.svg, The flag of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of East Germany.svg, The

flag of East Germany The first flag of East Germany, officially the East Germany, German Democratic Republic, was a tricolour of black, red and gold, identical to the flags of the Weimar Republic, West Germany, and Federal Republic of Germany, present-day Germany. F ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Ecuador.svg, The

flag of Ecuador The national flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow (double width), blue and red, was first adopted by law in 1835 and later on 26 September 1860. The design of the current flag was finalized in 1900 with the addition of ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Egypt.svg, The

flag of Egypt The national flag of Egypt ( ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black bands of the Arab Liberation Flag that dates back to the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, 1952 Egyptian Revolution. The fl ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of El Salvador.svg, The

flag of El Salvador The national flag of El Salvador, officially named the (Spanish language, Spanish for "Great Flag"), is a horizontal triband of blue-white-blue, with Coat of arms of El Salvador, the national coat of arms centered and entirely contained within ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Estonia.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Ethiopia.svg, The

flag of Ethiopia The Flag of Ethiopia () consists of a green, yellow, and red tricolour with the national emblem, a golden pentagram on a blue disc, superimposed at the center. While the colors green, yellow, and red in combination held symbolic importance sinc ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of France.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of France (lighter variant).svg, Variant of the

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of Free France (1940-1944).svg, The flag of

Free France Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of French Polynesia.svg, The

flag of French Polynesia Historical Background and Adoption The flag of French Polynesia features a stylized canoe with five figures under a golden sun on blue waves, symbolizing the region’s cultural identity, maritime heritage, and the unity of its five archipela ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of French Sudan (1958–1959).svg, The flag of French Sudan, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Gabon.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Gagauzia.svg, The flag of Gagauzia, a charged horizontal triband. File:Genderqueer Pride Flag.svg, The genderqueer pride flag, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Germany (1867–1918).svg, The

flag of the German Empire The black-white-red flag (), also known as the flag of the German Empire, the Imperial Flag () or the Realm Flag (), is a combination between the flag of Province of Prussia, Prussia and the flag of the Hanseatic League. Starting as the national ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Germany.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Germany (state).svg, Variant of the

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Ghana.svg, The

flag of Ghana The national flag of Ghana consists of a horizontal triband of red, yellow, and green. It replaced the British Gold Coast's Blue Ensign. The flag, which was adopted upon the independence of the Dominion of Ghana on 6 March 1957, was designe ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Ghana (1964–1966).svg, The

(1964–1966), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Gran Colombia (1819-1820).svg, The flag of Gran Colombia (1819–1820), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Gran Colombia (1820-1821).svg, The flag of Gran Colombia (1820–1821), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Gran Colombia.svg, The flag of Gran Colombia (1821–1830), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Guatemala.svg, The

flag of Guatemala The flag of Guatemala, often referred to as the National Pavilion () or the Blue-and-White (), features two colors: sky blue and white. According to decree, the two sky blue stripes represents strength, justice, truth and loyalty. The white col ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Guinea.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of Honduras.svg, The

flag of Honduras The flag of Honduras consists of three equal horizontal stripes of cyan, white and cyan, with five cyan stars in a Quincunx, quincuncial pattern at the centre of the middle stripe. The two outer bands represent the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbea ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Hungary.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Illinois Centennial Flag.svg, The Illinois centennial flag, a charged horizontal triband. File:Centennial Flag.svg, The Indiana centennial flag, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of India.svg, The

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Iowa.svg, The

flag of Iowa The flag of the U.S. state of Iowa is a vertical tricolor flag designed by Dixie Cornell Gebhardt in 1917. Iowa legislators officially adopted the flag in 1921. History The State of Iowa did not have a banner for the first 75 years of its ex ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Iowa (variant).svg, Variant

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Iran.svg, The

flag of Iran The national flag of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, also known as the ''Tricolour Flag of Iran'' (), is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring the Pan-Iranian colors comprising equal horizontal bands of green, white and red with the embl ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:State flag of Iran 1964-1980.svg, The flag of

Pahlavi Iran The Imperial State of Iran, officially known as the Imperial State of Persia until 1935, and commonly referred to as Pahlavi Iran, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavi dynasty was created in 1925 and lasted ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Iraq.svg, The

flag of Iraq Since the 14 July Revolution, 1958 Iraqi coup d'état, the various republican governments of Iraq have used a number of different flags, all featuring the Pan-Arab colours, pan-Arab colors of green, black, white, and red. The current official and ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Iraq (2004–2008).svg, The flag of Iraq (2004–2008), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Iraq (1991–2004).svg, The flag of Iraq (1991–2004), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Iraq (1963–1991).svg, The flag of Iraq (1963–1991), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Iraq (1959–1963).svg, The flag of Iraq (1959–1963), a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Ireland.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of Italy.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Civil Ensign of Italy.svg, The civil ensign of Italy, a charged vertical triband. File:State Ensign of Italy.svg, The

state ensign of Italy State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Naval ensign of Italy.svg, The

naval ensign of Italy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:War Flag of Italy.svg, The war flag of Italy, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg, The flag of the

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Côte d'Ivoire.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (1953–1991); Flag of Kazakhstan (1991–1992).svg, The flag of the Kazakh SSR, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Kyiv Oblast.svg, The flag of

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Laos.svg, The

flag of Laos The national flag of the Laos, Lao People's Democratic Republic consists of 3 horizontal stripes, with the middle stripe in blue being twice the height of the top and bottom red stripes. In the middle is a white disc, the diameter of the disc is ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Latvia.svg, The

flag of Latvia The national flag of Latvia () was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. On 27 February 1990, shortly befor ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Lebanon.svg, The

flag of Lebanon The national flag of Lebanon () is a horizontal triband of two red stripes enveloping a central white stripe which is twice the height of each red stripe. Centered on the white stripe is a green cedar of Lebanon tree (''Cedrus libani''), touchin ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Lesotho.svg, The

flag of Lesotho The current national flag of Lesotho, adopted on the 40th anniversary of Lesotho's independence on 4 October 2006, features a horizontal blue, white, and green tricolour with a black '' mokorotlo'' (a Basotho hat) in the center. The design is ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Libya.svg, The

flag of Libya The national flag of Libya () was originally introduced in 1951, following the creation of the Kingdom of Libya. It was designed by Omar Faiek Shennib and approved by King Idris Al Senussi who comprised the UN delegation representing the three ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Libya (1972–1977).svg, The flag of the Lybian Arab Republic (1972–1977), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Libya (1969–1972).svg, The flag of the Lybian Arab Republic (1969–1972), a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Lithuania.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1953–1988).svg, The flag of the Lithuanian SSR, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg, The

flag of Luxembourg The national flag of Luxembourg consists of three horizontal stripes, watermelon red, white and light blue, and can be in 1:2 or 3:5 ratio. It was first used between 1845 and 1848 and officially adopted in 1993. It is informally called in the ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Malawi.svg, The

flag of Malawi The flag of Malawi ( Chichewa: ''mbendera ya Malaŵi'') was officially adopted on 6 July 1964 when the colony of Nyasaland became independent from British rule and renamed itself Malawi. Design The first flag of independent Malawi was adopted ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Mali.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of the Borough of Manhattan.svg, The flag of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Mauritania.svg, The

flag of Mauritania The national flag of Mauritania () is a green field containing a gold star and crescent, with two red stripes at the top and bottom of the field. The original national flag was introduced under the instructions of President Moktar Ould Daddah an ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Maverique flag.svg, The maverique pride flag, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Mexico.svg, The

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Missouri.svg, The

flag of Missouri The flag of Missouri, often referred to as the Missouri flag, is the state flag of the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of a triband of three equal horizontal stripes colored red, white, and blue, with the arms from the Great Seal of Miss ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Moldova.svg, The flag of Moldova, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (1952–1990).svg, The flag of the Moldavian SSR, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Mongolia.svg, The

flag of Mongolia The national flag of Mongolia is a vertical triband with a red stripe at each side and a blue stripe in the middle, with the Mongolian Soyombo symbol centering on the leftmost stripe. The blue stripe represents the eternal blue sky, and the ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Bandera de la Provincia Monseñor Nouel.svg, The flag of

Monseñor Nouel Province Monseñor Nouel () is a Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province in the Cibao, central region of the Dominican Republic. It was split from La Vega Province, La Vega province in 1982. Name The province is named after Monseñor Dr. Adolfo Alej ...

, Dominican Republic, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Myanmar.svg, The flag of Myanmar, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Nauru.svg, The

flag of Nauru Following the independence of Nauru, the flag of Nauru () was raised for the first time. The flag, chosen in a local design competition, was adopted on independence day, 31 January 1968. The design symbolically depicts Nauru's geographical pos ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg, The

flag of the Netherlands The national flag of the Netherlands () is a horizontal tricolour (flag), tricolour of red, white, and blue. The current design originates as a variant of the late 16th century orange-white-blue ''Prince's Flag, Prinsenvlag'' ("Prince's Fla ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of New York City.svg, The flag of New York City, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Nicaragua.svg, The

flag of Nicaragua The flag of Nicaragua was first adopted on September 4, 1908, but not made official until August 27, 1971. It is based on, and inspired by, the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America and flag of Argentina. The country's flag is one of ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Niger.svg, The

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

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Nigeria.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of Region Autonoma del Atlantico Norte.svg, The flag of North Caribbean Coast, Nicaragua, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of North Ossetia.svg, The

flag of Ossetia The Flag of Ossetia is a tricolor flag, top to bottom white, red, and yellow, used by the Ossetian people in Ossetia, a region spanning both sides of the Caucasus Mountains. The flag is used by three distinct political entities: The Republic o ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of the UNIA.svg, The

Pan-African flag The pan-African flag (also known as the Afro-American flag, Black Liberation flag, UNIA flag, and various other names) is an ethnic flag representing pan-Africanism, the African diaspora, and/or black nationalism. A tri-color flag, it consist ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Pansexuality Pride Flag.svg, The

pansexual flag The pansexual flag is a magenta, yellow and cyan flag, designed as a symbol for the pansexual community to increase its visibility and recognition, and distinguish itself from bisexuality. History and use The flag has been in wide use since ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Paraguay.svg, The

flag of Paraguay The current design of the flag of Paraguay (; ) was first adopted in 1842. Its design, a red–white–blue triband (flag), triband, was inspired by the colours of the Flag of France, French Tricolour, believed to signify independence and libert ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Peru (state).svg, The state flag of Peru, a simple vertical triband. File:Polyamory Pride Flag.svg, The

polyamory Polyamory () is the practice of, or the desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. Some people who identify as polyamorous believe in consensual non-mon ...

pride flag (original 1995 design by Jim Evans), a charged horizontal triband. File:Polysexuality Pride Flag.svg, The polysexual pride flag, a simple horizontal triband. File:Prinsenvlag.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Príncipe Autonomous Region.svg, The flag of

Príncipe Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Prussia (1892-1918).svg, The

flag of Prussia The state of Prussia had its origins in the separate lands of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and of the Duchy of Prussia. The Margraviate of Brandenburg developed from the medieval Northern March of the Holy Roman Empire, passing to the House of H ...

(1892–1918), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Prussia (1918–1933).svg, The

(1918–1933), a charged horizontal triband. File:Dienstflagge Preußen 1933-35.svg, The service flag of Prussia (1933–1935), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg, The

flag of the Republic of the Congo The national flag, national flag of the Republic of the Congo () consists of a yellow diagonal band divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner, with a green upper triangle and red lower triangle. Adopted in 1959 to replace the Flag of F ...

, a simple diagonal triband. File:Flag of the Roman Republic (19th century).svg, The flag of the

Roman Republic (1849) The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of classical Roman civilisation beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire following the War ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Romania.svg, The

, a simple vertical triband. File:Flag of Russia.svg, The

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Russia (1991–1993).svg, The

(1991–1993), a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Russia (1858–1896).svg, The

black-yellow-white flag of the Russian Empire The black-yellow-white flag () was an official flag of the Russian Empire from 11 June 1858, until it was ''de facto'' abolished on 29 April 1896 by order of Nicholas II, although it was never officially rescinded in law.''Soboleva N. A., Artamo ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Rwanda.svg, The

flag of Rwanda The national flag of Rwanda is a horizontal tricolour of light blue, yellow, and green, in a 2:1:1 ratio, charged with a golden sun in the upper fly-side corner. It was adopted on 31 December 2001 and replaced the flag adopted shortly before ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Rwanda (1962–2001).svg, The 1962–2001 flag of Rwanda, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg, The

flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines The flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a Canadian pale triband consisting of blue, gold, and green bands charged with three green diamonds at the middle. Adopted in 1985 to replace a similar design used from the time of independence ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Santa Cruz.svg, The flag of Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Schenectady County, New York.svg, The flag of

Schenectady County, New York Schenectady County () is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,061. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk language word meaning "on the other side of the pine lands," a te ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Senegal.svg, The

flag of Senegal The national flag of Senegal () is a tricolour consisting of three vertical green, yellow and red bands charged with a five-pointed green star at the centre. Adopted in 1960 to replace the flag of the Mali Federation, it has been the flag o ...

, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Serbia.svg, The

flag of Serbia The flag of Serbia (), also known as the Tricolour (), is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle, and white on the bottom (on civil flag), with the lesser coat of arms left of center (on stat ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Serbia (1947–1992); Flag of Montenegro (1946–1993).svg, The flag of

SR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Sierra Leone.svg, The

flag of Sierra Leone The national flag of Sierra Leone is a tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of three horizontal green, white and blue bands.https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Sierra_Leone_2013#s6 It was adopted in 1961, Sierra Leone's independenc ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Slovakia.svg, The flag of Slovakia, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Slovenia.svg, The

flag of Slovenia The national flag of Slovenia () features three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the coat of arms of Slovenia located in the upper hoist side of the flag centred in the white and blue bands. The coat of arms is a shield ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Slovenia (1945–1991).svg, The flag of

SR Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia (, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Socialist Slovenia or simply Slovenia, was one ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Somaliland.svg, The

flag of Somaliland The flag of Somaliland (; ) was adopted on 14 October 1996. It consists of a tricolour of green, white, and red, with a black star located in the centre. On the green stripe, there is the Shahada in white calligraphic script. The Constituti ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of South Africa (1982–1994).svg, The flag of South Africa (1928–1994), a charged horizontal triband. File:Bandera de España.svg, The

flag of Spain The flag of Spain (), as it is defined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the height of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle co ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Spain (1945–1977).svg, The flag of

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

(1945–1977), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Spain (1938–1945).svg, The flag of Francoist Spain (1938–1945), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Bando Nacional (1936–1938).svg, The flag of Francoist Spain (1936-1938), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Spain (1931–1939).svg, The

flag of the Second Spanish Republic The flag of the Second Spanish Republic, known in Spanish as ' (the tricolour), was the official flag of Spain between 1931 and 1939 and the flag of the Spanish Republican government in exile until 1977. Its present-day use in Spain is associa ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the First Spanish Republic.svg, The flag of the

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic (), was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after the abdication of King ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Statenvlag.svg, The

Statenvlag The ''Statenvlag'' ("States Flag") is the name of the flag of the States-General of the Dutch Republic, the red-white-blue tricolour flag replacing the older orange-white-blue Prince's Flag in the mid 17th century. The modern national flag of ...

, a simple horizontal triband. Flag of Sudan (1956–1970).svg, The flag of Sudan (1956–1970), a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg, The

flag of Syria Since gaining full independence from France in 1946, Syria has used a number of different flags, all featuring the pan-Arab colours, pan-Arab colors of green, black, white, and red. Initially a green, white and black triband charged with thre ...

(previously the flag of the

Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Syrian Salvation Government.svg, The flag of the

Syrian Salvation Government The Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) was a '' de facto'' unrecognized quasi-state in Syria formed on 2 November 2017 by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other opposition groups during the Syrian civil war. It controlled much of northwest S ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the United Arab_Republic (1958%E2%80%931971), Flag of Syria (1980%E2%80%932024) (stars variant 2).svg, The

of the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...

and

Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the One-party state, one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Syrian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party (Syri ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Tajikistan.svg, The

flag of Tajikistan The national flag of Tajikistan () was adopted in November 1992, replacing the flag of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic of 1953. The flag features an unequal horizontal tricolor of red, white, and green, with a yellow crown surmounted by an ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Texas Pilot Flag (1839-1845).svg, The civil ensign of the Republic of Texas, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Transnistria (state).svg, The

flag of Transnistria Transnistria (officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic or PMR), a breakaway state internationally recognised as part of Moldova, has a state flag, a presidential standard, and a customs flag. Additionally, the flag of Russia shares equal ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Ulster County, New York.png, The flag of

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston, ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Union of African States (1958-1961).svg, The flag of the

Union of African States The Union of African States (), sometimes called the Ghana–Guinea–Mali Union, was a short-lived and loose regional organization formed in 1958 linking the West African nations of Ghana and Guinea as the Union of Independent African States ...

(1958–1961), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Union of African States (1961–1962).svg, The flag of the

(1961–1963), a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Utah.svg, The flag of Utah, a horizontal triband charged with a

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

. File:German Olympic flag (1959-1968).svg, The flag of the

United Team of Germany The United Team of Germany () was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympic Games, Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes from a third ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Venezuela (state).svg, The

flag of Venezuela The current national flag of Venezuela () was introduced in 2006. The basic design includes a horizontal tricolour of yellow, blue, and red, dating to the original flag introduced in 1811, in the Venezuelan War of Independence. Further modifica ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Yemen.svg, The

flag of Yemen The national flag of Yemen () is the official flag of the Yemen. It was adopted on 22 May 1990, the day of the Yemeni unification. It resembles the Arab Liberation Flag that was used by the National Liberation Front. It served as the derivation ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of the Yemen Arab Republic.svg, The flag of the

Yemen Arab Republic The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ', ), commonly known as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a country that existed from 1962 until its Yemeni unification, unification with the South Yemen, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (commonly known as ...

, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Serbia and Montenegro.svg, The

flag of Serbia and Montenegro The national flag of Serbia and Montenegro was originally adopted on 27 April 1992 as the flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and was used until 2006. After the country was renamed to the Serbia and Montenegro, State Union of Serbia and M ...

, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg, The flag of Yugoslavia, a charged horizontal triband. File:Flag of Yugoslavia (1918–1941).svg, The flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a simple horizontal triband. File:Flag of Yukon.svg, The flag of Yukon, a charged vertical triband. File:Flag of Zanzibar (January-April 1964).svg, The flag of SR Zanzibar, a simple horizontal triband.

References

External links