Everything outside of the United States falls into this category.
While Sri Lanka didn’t officially have a national flag until 1815, the roots of its flag, the lion imagery, are some of the oldest in the vexillological world. The lion symbolism was brought to Sri Lanka by Vijaya, Sri Lanka’s first king. Vijaya came to the island in 486 BC with 700 followers after being expelled from the Vanga … More Sri Lanka: Royal outcast
Germany is a world leader in many categories, such as finance, manufacturing, and sports (Mia san mia!). However, this has not always been true, as Germany has been through many periods of struggle, occupation, and war. Almost all of these periods have had a unique flag to represent them. Germany has had two prevalent color schemes throughout its existance; … More Germany: A renewed pride
Japan’s flag, known as the Hinomaru, is a world renowned classic due to its simple yet bold design. Even though it is based on symbolism from the 8th century, modern associations leave the Japanese flag with an uncertain future. The red circle in Japan’s flag represents a rising sun, symbolism that’s been associated with Japan almost since … More Japan: Rich history, uncertain future
South Africa’s current flag was introduced in 1994. In it’s short life, it has become arguably one of the most well known African flags. As we will explore, however, this design was only meant to be a placeholder. South Africa’s first flag was flown in 1910 when the British united the Natal, Cape, Transvaal, and Orange … More South Africa: A new classic
The flag of Nepal is arguably the most unique national flag in the world, being that it is the only non-rectangular national flag. With a flag so unique, you would think that there would be a clear story behind it’s creation. Well, the history behind the Nepalese flag design is about as clear as mud. … More Nepal: A “living fossil”
The French Tricolore is one of the most well known flags around the world. While it may seem like a simple and even unoriginal design today, the Tricolore was revolutionary at the time of its creation and served as the inspiration for many other flags. The history of the Tricolore starts in the first days … More The French Tricolore: A template for independence
A special thanks to Rich Campbell for suggesting this post. To get a better sense of the history of the Pakistani flag, we should begin with the colonization of the Indian subcontinent by the British East-India Company (BEIC). While the organization had a presence in the area since 1612, the BEIC didn’t establish a firm foothold in the … More Pakistan
This post was originally going to be solely about the flag of Equador. However, it is almost impossible to examine the flag of Ecuador without also looking at the flags of Colombia (right) and Venezuela (center). As we will find out, they all look very similar for a reason. Present day Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela … More Equador, Venezuela, and Colombia: A love of primary colors
While the flag of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Libyan socialist state under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, looks like it was designed by 5 year old with one crayon, it is actually full of details and historical significance. One can even follow a trail between all of the details. It is likely that Gaddafi chose … More Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Flag
Fun Flag Facts 