Flags and Countries Quiz Prep: Symbols of the World

Flags are one of the most rewarding things to study for a quiz: there are fewer than 200 national flags to learn, the facts rarely change, and many of them hide a story about the country's history. Focus on the standouts first, then learn the patterns that connect the rest.

Flags That Break the Rules

• Nepal has the only national flag that is not a rectangle or square. It is made of two stacked pennants, representing the Himalayas and two religions.
• Switzerland and Vatican City use square flags.
• Libya's flag from 1977 to 2011 was plain green, with no design at all — the only national flag of its kind.
• Paraguay's flag has a different emblem on each side: the national coat of arms on the front and the treasury seal on the back.
• Mozambique's flag includes an AK-47 rifle, crossed with a hoe and set over a book, symbolising defence, agriculture and education.
• Cyprus shows a map of the island on its flag, one of very few national flags to do so.

Symbols Worth Knowing

• Canada — a red maple leaf, adopted in 1965.
• Japan — a simple red disc representing the sun. Its name, Hinomaru, means "circle of the sun".
• Brazil — a blue globe showing the night sky over Rio de Janeiro on 15 November 1889, the day the republic was proclaimed, with the motto "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress). Each star represents a state.
• India — the Ashoka Chakra, a navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes, at the centre of saffron, white and green stripes.
• Mexico — an eagle on a cactus eating a snake, from the Aztec legend of where to found their capital, Tenochtitlán.
• Lebanon — a green cedar tree.
• Bhutan — a white dragon holding jewels in its claws.
• Sri Lanka — a golden lion holding a sword.
• The United States — 50 stars for the states and 13 stripes for the original colonies.
• The United Kingdom — the Union Flag combines the crosses of St George (England), St Andrew (Scotland) and St Patrick (Ireland). Wales is not represented.

Patterns to Spot

• The Nordic cross appears on the flags of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland. Denmark's flag, the Dannebrog, is often called the oldest national flag still in use.
• Pan-African colours — red, gold and green — come from the flag of Ethiopia, one of the few African countries never colonised. Ghana, Senegal, Mali and many others use them.
• Pan-Arab colours — red, white, black and green — appear on the flags of Jordan, the UAE, Kuwait and Palestine, among others.
• Red is the most common colour on national flags, appearing on the majority of them.
• The Southern Cross constellation appears on the flags of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Brazil.

Lookalikes That Trip People Up

• Chad and Romania — almost identical blue, yellow and red vertical stripes, differing only slightly in the shade of blue.
• Indonesia and Monaco — both red over white; only the proportions differ. Poland is the same colours upside down.
• Ireland and Côte d'Ivoire — the same three colours in reverse order. Ireland has green next to the flagpole; Côte d'Ivoire has orange.
• Australia and New Zealand — both blue with the Union Flag and the Southern Cross, but Australia's stars are white and New Zealand's are red.

Flag Trivia to Impress

• The study of flags is called vexillology.
• The Philippines flies its flag upside down — red stripe on top — in times of war.
• Saudi Arabia's flag carries a religious inscription, so it is not flown at half-mast.

How to Remember It All

Study flags by region, not alphabetically. Grouping them lets you spot the shared patterns — Nordic crosses, Pan-African colours, the Southern Cross — so you learn ten flags for the effort of three. Then learn the lookalikes as pairs, because those are the questions that catch people out.

Put your new knowledge to the test in the free Flags of the World quiz or the picture-based Guess the Flag, and watch your leaderboard rank climb.