Unofficial flags are either (a)

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 ...

s in regular use that have no official status or (b) flag concepts that have appeared in various publications. Examples of the former type are:

Boxing kangaroo The boxing kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia, frequently seen in pop culture. The symbol is often displayed prominently by Australian spectators at sporting events, such as at cricket, tennis, basketball and football matches, and at t ...

, Fighting

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

, Rotuma, West Irian,

Jolly Roger Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly ...

. These are examples of flags used at sporting fixtures, reproductions of no-longer-used historical flags, or used by a regional populace out of spontaneity, though not officially approved (or gazetted). Examples of the latter type are:

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, Stewart Island/Rakiura, 51-Star

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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Flag,

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. These are examples of flag ideas put forward by vexillologists/flag designers that have been picked up by various publications (books, magazine articles, online reference sites, etc.).

Examples

File:Flag of Chatham Islands.svg,

flag (used widely, but status unofficial) File:Flag of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.svg, Unofficial local flag of Saint Pierre and Miquelon File:Flag of Wake Island.svg, Flag of

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of To ...

used in military ceremonies similar to the Czech flag File:Unification flag of Korea.svg, alt=Korea unificaion flag, used in sports contexts,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

unification flag The Korean Unification Flag is a flag designed to represent all of Korea when North and South Korea participate as one team in sporting events. History North and South Korea initially planned to compete as one team at the 1990 Asian Games, an ...

, used in sports contexts File:Proposed New Zealand South Island flag.svg,

(NZ) conceptual flag File:People's Flag of Milwaukee.svg, People's Flag of Milwaukee File:US flag 51 stars.svg, 51-star conceptual

United States flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

File:Flag of Johnston Atoll (local).svg, Flag of

Johnston Atoll Johnston Atoll is an Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and ...

(currently an uninhabited U.S. unincorporated territory) File:True South Antarctic Flag.svg, True South flag concept for Antarctica File:Flag of Antarctica.svg, Graham Bartram flag concept for Antarctica File:Flag of Antarctica (Smith).svg, Whitney Smith flag concept for Antarctica File:International Flag of Planet Earth.svg, International Flag of Planet Earth, proposed by Oskar Pernefel File:Socialist red flag.svg, Red Flag used for

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

movements File:Flag of Northern Ireland.svg, Unofficial flag of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, commonly used in sports File:Flag of Cascadia.svg, alt=, Unofficial flag of Cascadia {{Flag-stub Types of flags