Flags A-Z

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The national flag of Zambia was adopted upon independence on 24 October 1964

The current flag is used as both national flag and ensign. It is green with an orange-coloured African fish eagle in flight over a rectangular block of three vertical stripes, coloured, from left to right: red, black and orange. The placement of the eagle and block of stripes at the flag's fly is notable as most emblems and devices on flags are placed at centre or at the hoist. Green stands for the nation's lush flora, red for the nation's struggle for freedom, black for the Zambian people, and orange for the land's natural resources and mineral wealth. Additionally, the eagle flying above the coloured stripes is intended to represent the people's ability to rise above the nation's problems

 

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The flag of Åland (Swedish: Ålands flagga) is a yellow or gold Nordic cross with another red cross inside on a blue background with the vertical bar shifted towards the hoist side.[1] It is intended to resemble the Swedish flag defaced by a red cross symbolizing Finland.

The coat of arms of Åland features a golden red deer on a blue field. This is traditionally surmounted by a comital coronet of the elder Swedish style.

 

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The flag of Belize was adopted on 21 September 1981.
The flag is royal blue, with a white disc at the centre containing the national coat of arms held by a mestizo and a man of African descent. The flag of Belize is the only country to have humans depicted as a major design element on its national flag.

Coat of arms of Belize:

Crest – A mahogany tree proper

Compartment – A grassy field proper

Escutcheon – Party per pall inverted, 1st Argent a paddle and a squaring axe proper in saltire 2nd Or a saw and beating axe proper in saltire 3rd per fess bleu celeste and barry wavy or vert azure above the last a sailing ship proper

Supporters – Dexter a Mestizo (revised post-independence to Belizean Mestizo) woodsman proper garbed in trousers argent bearing in the dexter hand a beating axe, sinister an African (revised post-independence to Afro Belizean) woodsman proper garbed in trousers argent bearing in the sinister hand a paddle proper.

Other elements – The whole surrounded by a wreath of 25 leaves proper.

 

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The flag of Ceuta is the flag of the Spanish city of Ceuta, consisting of a black and white gyronny with a central escutcheon displaying the municipal coat of arms.

Though a city of Spain, the coat of arms of Ceuta is a variation on the shield of coat of arms of Portugal surmounted with a crown, since that city was conquered by King John I of Portugal on 21 August 1415. The city chose to join Spain when Portugal again became independent at the end of the Iberian Union, a period in which all the Iberian crowns were held by the same royal house, in 1640.

There are two principal differences between the coat of arms of Portugal and the coat of arms of Ceuta. The coat of arms of Portugal has a third castle along the chief, which is part of the red border, while in the coat of arms of Ceuta that castle has been moved to the point of the shield. This difference can be explained by the higher status of Lisbon and other cities closer to the king as compared to Ceuta. The other difference is the crown. Though today there is no crown on Portugal's coat of arms, traditionally the crown on the coat of arms has been that of a king, while Ceuta's is that of a marquis, owed to the fact that the title of marquis had been used for governors of marches, or a country's frontier regions.

 

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Dubai & Ajman (UEA)

The flags of Ajman and Dubai are identical. They are both plain red with a white bar at the hoist, i.e. closest to the flag staff. The flag is known as the White Red Halved and was adopted as an alternative to the Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah White Pierced Red by the Emirate of Dubai and Ajman to distinguish their authority from the Al Qawasim in defiance of the bonds of the 1820 General Maritime Treaty with the British. To the British, this flag was titled as Trucial Coast Flag No.1 and Abu Dhabi and Umm Al Quwain were also expected to adopt it. According to the 1820 General Maritime Treaty with the British, in times of war a full red flag would be used by the Bani Yas (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) and a full white flag would be used by Ajman.

 

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The national flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow (double width), blue and red.

The colors have the following meanings:
Yellow: The crops and the fertile soil.
Blue: The ocean and the clear skies.
Red: The blood spilled by the heroes who died in the name of their countrymen's Fatherland and Freedom.

The coat of arms of Ecuador (Spanish: Escudo de armas del Ecuador):

The Arms of Ecuador shall be an oval shield containing inside, in the upper part the sun with the part of the Zodiac where one finds the signs corresponding to the memorable months of March, April, May and June; in the lower part, to the right shall be represented the historical mountain Chimborazo, wherefrom shall start a river, and where it appears most abundant shall be a steamship, having for a mast a caduceus, as a symbol of navigation and commerce. The shield shall rest on a bundle of consular beams, a symbol of the republican dignity. It shall be adorned on the outside with national flags and branches of palm and laurel, and surmounted by a condor with wings displayed.

 

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The flag of Fernando de Noronha is made of a white lozenge placed on a Royal blue rectangle and charged with the coat of arms. The coat of arms shows the "Big Rock", the emblem of Fernando de Noronha, represented in silver with shadows, dominating a green mound, representing natural vegetation. The landscape is surrounded by two silver dolphins with shadows proper. In the base are three silver waves and three flag green waves. The shield is surrounded by a cotice or symbolizing emerging richness, inscribed "FERNANDI NORONHAE". A Portuguese escutcheon is placed on top. The shield is surrounded by two green branches, representing the agricultural resources of the archipelago. The whole is surmounted by a mural crown or, symbolizing strength and resistance.

 

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The Galapagos Flag and its Coat of Arms were designed by the policeman

Meaning of Colors:
• The green color represents the abundant vegetation of the Galapagos Islands, especially in the highlands.
The Galapagos soil in the mountains is very fertile, which makes it possible for its inhabitants to cultivate it.
• The color white means the purity of its people. Isolation in the Islands created a reduced society of humble men and women, but hard-working, honest, respectful, collaborative, with no ambitions other than a quiet life in this oasis of peace.
• The blue color represents the Pacific Ocean and the sky that surrounds the Galapagos Archipelago. The Islands are blessed with rich and abundant marine life.

The shield is divided into four parts:
• The upper left part shows some Galapagos volcanoes and one of them in eruption, recalling the volcanic origin of the Galapagos Islands and its constant volcanic activity.
• In the upper right part, a sailboat is shown setting sail into the Ocean. Don Hugo Salazar mentions that the ship represents the only means of transportation that existed at that time between continental Ecuador and the Galapagos.
• In the lower left part of the Coat of Arms there is a Snail that represents the prosperity and wealth of the Galapagos Islands.
The Snail also represents the product of the sea essential for the survival of the residents who were collectors of fish, lobsters and mollusks, and everything that is inside the snail represents the fertility of the highlands of the populated Islands.
• The bottom right is represented by the Galapagos flag.
In the middle of the shield is the Galapagos Giant Tortoise, which is the symbol of the Galapagos Islands and is also the animal for which the Islands have this name.
The upper half of the Shield (in blue) has thirteen silver stars representing the larger Islands.
The Galapagos Islands are located on the Equator Line therefore this line appears right in the middle of the Coat of Arms from left to right.
The Coat of Arms has a flaming torch and is surrounded by two olive branches on each side.
The olive branches represent the peace that exists in the Islands and the cordiality of its inhabitants.

 

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Hellenic Republic (Greece)
Ελληνική Δημοκρατία (Ellinikí Dimokratía)

The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the "blue and white one" (Greek: Γαλανόλευκη, Galanólefki) or the "sky blue and white" (Κυανόλευκη, Kyanólefki) is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white. There is a blue canton in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolises Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The blazon of the flag is Azure, four bars Argent; on a canton of the field a Greek cross throughout of the second. The official flag ratio is 2:3.

 

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The national flag of the State of Israel (Hebrew: דגל ישראל Degel Yīsraʾel; Arabic: علم إسرائيل ʿAlam Israʾīl)
It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes.
The blue colour is described as "dark sky-blue" and varies from flag to flag, ranging from a hue of pure blue, sometimes shaded almost as dark as navy blue, to hues about 75% toward pure cyan and shades as light as very light blue.

 

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the rag of ruZZIa and its only use

 

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Flag of the Norwegian island territory of Jan Mayen.
On a dark blue background, in the upper left margin, the flag of the Kingdom of Norway and in the center of the dark blue background, the white silhouette of the island of Jan Mayen.

 

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The flag of Kiribati (Gilbertese: buraki ni Kiribati) is red in the upper half with a gold frigatebird (Fregata minor, in Gilbertese: te eitei) flying over a gold rising sun (otintaai), and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean and the three archipelagoes (Gilbert, Phoenix and Line Islands). The 17 rays of the sun represent the 16 Gilbert Islands and Banaba (former Ocean Island).

The official description is this one:

• "The bird is a frigate bird which represents power, freedom and Kiribati cultural dance patterns".
• "The rising sun is the tropical sun as Kiribati lies astride the Equator".
• "The sea is the Pacific Ocean which surrounds Kiribati".

 

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The flag of Autonomous Region of Madeira consists of a blue-gold-blue vertical triband with a Cross of Christ in the center.
The blue represents the environment that characterizes insularity and represents nobility, beauty and serenity. The gold mirrors the mildness of the archipelago's climate and symbolizes wealth, strength, faith, purity and constancy.
The Cross of the Order of Christ alludes to the following historical facts:

• The archipelago was discovered by two knights of the Household Henry the Navigator, who was Grand Master of the Military Order of Christ: João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira; becoming therefore a symbol of connection with Portugal;
• Since its discovery, the archipelago was property of the Order of Christ, which promoted its settlement (only in the reign of D. Manuel the archipelago was called to the direct possession of the Portuguese Crown).

 

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The Melilla flag (Spain) is regulated in the third article of the Melilla Statute of Autonomy, describes it as “the traditional light blue color with the City shield in the center”.

The coat of arms of Melilla is the same as the coat of arms of the House of Medina Sidonia, from which it comes directly. Its coat of arms is as follows: in a field of azure, two cauldrons chequered in gold and gules, gringoladas with seven serpents in sinople, attached to the post. Border of the Royal Arms of Castilla and León, of nine pieces of gules, with castles of gold, alternated, with nine pieces of silver with lions of gules. The shield is topped with a Ducal Crown, which is dominated by a figure representing Guzmán el Bueno, in an attitude of throwing a dagger, from the castle of Tarifa. They support it, the columns of the Strait of Hercules, with the inscription "Non Plus Ultra". At the foot of the Shield, but outside of it, a Dragon appears in sinople. On the crest there is a winged ribbon with the motto Praeferre Patriam Liberis Parentem Decet (A father must put the country before his children).

 

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Flag of New Caledonia​

The Kanak flag first adopted by the party in 1980, is composed of three horizontal stripes of blue, red and green charged with a yellow disc of a diameter two-thirds the height of the flag centered at a position of one-third the width of the flag, measured from the hoist side. The disc is outlined in black and defaced with a vertical symbol, also black.

The blue symbolizes both the sky and more importantly the ocean surrounding New Caledonia. The red symbolizes the blood shed by the Kanaks in their struggle for independence, socialism, and unity. The green symbolizes the land itself and by extension the ancestors buried within it. The yellow disc is a representation of the sun and the symbol upon it consists of a flèche faitière, a kind of arrow that adorns the roofs of Kanak houses thrust through tutut shells.

New Caledonia is divided into three provinces, each with its own flag.

 

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The symbol on the Okinawan flag of today brought out a great deal of discussion and even threats of law suits while it was being formulated. The initial colors used blue as the outer disk. As such, if placed on its side, disks towards the hoist, it would have been identical with the the Mon used by the most prominent Okinawan martial arts organization. This quite possibly reflects that that organization was really the only native organization which received equal status with organizations throughout Japan.
From 1879 until 1945, the Japanese had strived to squelch the Okinawan culture, and to impose their own. This was especially true through education, where children would be severely punished if they used the Okinawan language in school, even among themselves. The colors were changed to Red on White on Red, but the significance to the Okinawans remains clear -- if they are to be a part of Japan, then they are equal to any other prefecture in the nation.

 

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Flag of the Municipality of Pucón (Chile)

The figure in the center represents the Villarrica volcano, which is located a few kilometers from the city of Pucón, and those lines under it are the waves of Lake Villarrica. Villarrica volcano is the most active of all South America and its original name is "rukapillan" (the dwelling of the devil).

 

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The flag of Sardinia (Sardinian: bandera de sa Sardigna, bandera sarda, Sa pandhela de sa Sarđhinna), called the flag of the Four Moors or simply the Four Moors (Italian: I quattro mori; Sardinian: Sos bator moros and Is cuatru morus).

The flag is composed of the St George's Cross and four heads of Moors, which in the past may not have been forehead bandaged but blindfolded and turned towards the hoist. But already well-preserved pictures from the 16th century clearly show a forehead bandage. The most accepted hypothesis is that the heads represented the heads of Moorish princes defeated by the Aragonese, as for the first time they appeared in the 13th-century seals of the Crown of Aragon – although with a beard and no bandage, contrary to the Moors of the Sardinian flag, which appeared for the first time in a manuscript of the second half of the 14th century.

 

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The flag of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: bratach na h-Alba;[1] Scots: Banner o Scotland, also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire)

The heraldic term for an X-shaped cross is a 'saltire', from the old French word saultoir or salteur (itself derived from the Latin saltatorium), a word for both a type of stile constructed from two cross pieces and a type of cross-shaped stirrup-cord. In heraldic language, the Scottish flag may be blazoned azure, a saltire argent. The tincture of the Saltire can appear as either silver (argent) or white. However, the term azure does not refer to a particular shade of blue.

Throughout the history of fabric production natural dyes have been used to apply a form of colour, with dyes from plants, including indigo and woad, having dozens of compounds whose proportions may vary according to soil type and climate; therefore giving rise to variations in shade. In the case of the Saltire, variations in shades of blue have resulted in the background of the flag ranging from sky blue to navy blue. When incorporated as part of the Union Flag during the 17th century, the dark blue applied to Union Flags destined for maritime use was possibly selected on the basis of the durability of darker dyes, with this dark blue shade eventually becoming standard on Union Flags both at sea and on land. Some flag manufacturers selected the same navy blue colour trend of the Union Flag for the Saltire itself, leading to a variety of shades of blue being depicted on the flag of Scotland.