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Afghanistan
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Afghanistan had more changes to its national flag in the 20th century than any other country; the colors black, red, and green appeared on most of them |
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Bahrain
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until 2002 the flag had eight white points, but this was reduced to five to avoid confusion with the Qatari flag |
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Belize
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Belize's flag is the only national flag that depicts human beings; two British overseas territories, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands, also depict humans |
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Benin
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
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Bermuda
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the flag is unusual in that it is only British overseas territory that uses a red ensign, all others use blue |
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Bolivia
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similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; in 2009, a presidential decree made it mandatory for a so-called wiphala - a square, multi-colored flag representing the country's indigenous peoples - to be used alongside the traditional flag |
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Bulgaria
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the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed |
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Burkina Faso
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
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Cambodia
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only national flag to incorporate an actual building in its design |
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Cameroon
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
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Chad
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similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France |
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Chile
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design was influenced by the US flag |
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Christmas Island
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the flag of Australia is used for official purposes |
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Comoros
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the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam |
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Congo, Republic of the
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
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Costa Rica
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somewhat resembles the flag of North Korea; similar to the flag of Thailand but with the blue and red colors reversed |
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Cote d'Ivoire
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similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and has the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side), white, and red; design was based on the flag of France |
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Cyprus
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the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" flag retains the white field of the Cyprus national flag but displays narrow horizontal red stripes positioned a small distance from the top and bottom edges between which are centered a red crescent and a red five-pointed star; the banner is modeled after the Turkish national flag but with the colors reversed |
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Czech Republic
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is identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia |
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Denmark
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the shifted design element was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden |
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Ecuador
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similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms |
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Egypt
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similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and Yemen, which has a plain white band |
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El Salvador
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similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
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Ethiopia
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Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag (adopted ca. 1895) were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the Pan-African colors; the emblem in the center of the current flag was added in 1996 |
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France
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the design and/or colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Netherlands |
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Ghana
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band |
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Guam
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the US flag is the national flag |
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Guinea
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors from left to right are the reverse of those on the flags of neighboring Mali and Senegal |
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Guinea-Bissau
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the flag design was heavily influenced by the Ghanian flag |
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Honduras
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similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band |
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India
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similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band |
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Indonesia
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similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red |
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Iraq
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similar to the flag of Syria, which has two stars but no script, Yemen, which has a plain white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band |
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Ireland
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similar to the flag of Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red |
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Italy
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similar to the flag of Mexico, which is longer, uses darker shades of red and green, and has its coat of arms centered on the white band; Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green |
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Liberia
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the design is based on the US flag |
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Malaysia
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the design is based on the flag of the US |
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Mali
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors from left to right are the same as those of neighboring Senegal (which has an additional green central star) and the reverse of those on the flag of neighboring Guinea |
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Mayotte
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the flag of France used for official occasions |
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Mexico
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similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter, uses lighter shades of red and green, and does not have anything in its white band |
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Moldova
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one of only three national flags that differ on their obverse and reverse sides - the others are Paraguay and Saudi Arabia |
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Monaco
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similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is white (top) and red |
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Nepal
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Nepal is the only country in the world whose flag is not rectangular or square |
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Nicaragua
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similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
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Niger
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similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band |
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Norfolk Island
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somewhat reminiscent of the flag of Canada with its use of only two colors and depiction of a prominent local floral symbol in the central white band |
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Paraguay
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the three color bands resemble those on the flag of the Netherlands; one of only three national flags that differ on their obverse and reverse sides - the others are Moldova and Saudi Arabia |
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Poland
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similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white |
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Puerto Rico
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design initially influenced by the US flag, but similar to the Cuban flag, with the colors of the bands and triangle reversed |
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Qatar
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the other eight emirates are the seven that compose the UAE and Bahrain; according to some sources, the dominant color was formerly red, but this darkened to maroon upon exposure to the sun and the new shade was eventually adopted |
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Romania
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now similar to the flag of Chad, whose blue band is darker; also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova |
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Russia
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the colors may have been based on those of the Dutch flag; despite many popular interpretations, there is no official meaning assigned to the colors of the Russian flag; this flag inspired other Slav countries to adopt horizontal tricolors of the same colors but in different arrangements, and so red, blue, and white became the Pan-Slav colors |
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Sao Tome and Principe
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
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Saudi Arabia
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one of only three national flags that differ on their obverse and reverse sides - the others are Moldova and Paraguay |
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Senegal
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors from left to right are the same as those of neighboring Mali and the reverse of those on the flag of neighboring Guinea |
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Serbia and Montenegro
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the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia |
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Slovakia
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the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia |
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South Africa
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the South African flag is the only national flag to display six colors as part of its primary design |
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Syria
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similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band |
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Thailand
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similar to the flag of Costa Rica but with the blue and red colors reversed |
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Togo
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uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
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Tunisia
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the flag is based on that of Turkey, itself a successor state to the Ottoman Empire |
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Turkmenistan
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the flag of Turkmenistan is the most intricate of all national flags |
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United States
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the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico |
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Uruguay
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the banner was inspired by the national colors of Argentina and by the design of the US flag |
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Wallis and Futuna
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the design is derived from an original red banner with a white cross pattee that was introduced in the 19th century by French missionaries; the flag of France used for official occasions |
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Yemen
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similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, and of Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
