Curlino
Chronicle
Since when has each flag existed? The timeline of national flags, from the Bronze Age to today.
before 1800
- 2400 BCEventA Flag Made of Bronze
- 1219EventFell From the Sky
- 1606EventTwo Crowns, One Flag
1625DenmarkOnce Off Limits
1664NetherlandsA School Bag on the Flagpole
1777United StatesFifty Stars, One Student
1800–1899
1801United KingdomWhere Is Wales?- 1806EventA Chat With Goethe
1817ChileThe Lone Star
1818ArgentinaBelgrano's Sky-Blue Banner
1822GreeceNine Stripes, Nine Syllables- 1823EventBlue and White, Five Times Over
1830UruguayFrom 19 Stripes to Nine
1830FranceA Painter Flips the Stripes
1831BelgiumSewn by a Brussels Draper
1831TunisiaA Flag to Tell Ships Apart
1842ParaguayThe All-Blue Flag of 1811
1844TürkiyeA Star Loses Three Points
1845LuxembourgAlmost Dutch, but Longer
1847LiberiaStitched by Seven Women
1848Costa RicaThe President's Wife Adds Red- 1848EventColors for All Slavs
1851BoliviaOne Country, Two Flags- 1857EventA Flag for Every Letter
1861ColombiaNot Three Equal Stripes- 1864EventThe Swiss Flag in Reverse
1865Dominican RepublicSewn by Four Women
1866HondurasTurquoise or Navy?- 1866EventWhy Many Flags Are Blue
1869New ZealandChiefs Chose the First Flag
1870JapanA Parade on Broadway
1871GuatemalaStripes Turned Upright
1875TongaA Flag That Can Never Change
1881MonacoColors Since 1339
1889BrazilThe Sky Over Rio
1889SwitzerlandA Cross to Tell Friends Apart
1895Puerto RicoA Flag Born in New York
1898PhilippinesA Five-Year-Old Helped Sew It
1899NorwayThe Herring Salad
1900–1945
1900EcuadorA Steamship on the Flag
1901AustraliaA Star Gains a Point
1902CubaA Design in the Morning Sky- 1902EventA Flag With a Swallowtail
1903PanamaSewn in Secret
1906SwedenA Golden Cross in the Sky
1908NicaraguaA Rainbow Makes It Purple
1910BermudaA Shipwreck on the Flag
1910PortugalA Flag Sent to Every School- 1911EventA Flag at the Bottom of the World
1912El SalvadorSewn by a General's Wife
1915IcelandOnce Three White Codfish
1915MoroccoA Star Against Mix-Ups- 1916EventFour Colors, No Fixed Order
1917ThailandSame Either Way Up
1918FinlandA Flag for the Barber Shop?
1918AustriaA Belt Left a White Stripe
1919PolandAn Eagle and a Knight on Red- 1920EventFive Rings for Every Flag
1921U.S. Virgin IslandsDrawn by a Cartoonist
1922IrelandA Rosette Made in Dublin- 1927EventA Schoolboy's Big Dipper
1928JordanSeven Points, Seven Verses
1928TaiwanBlue Sky, White Sun
1929Vatican CityBreaking a Heraldry Rule
1932Isle of ManThree Legs on a Red Flag
1937Saudi ArabiaTwo Right Sides
1937LiechtensteinA Flag That Went to the Moon
1940Faroe IslandsA Banner Made by Students
1942AndorraNot to Be Mixed Up With Chad
1943LebanonThe Cedar's Trunk Turned Green
1945IndonesiaThe Heirloom Flag
1945VietnamWho Designed It?
1946–1989
1947IndiaCloth Spun by Hand
1947PakistanA Corner Left Empty
1947ItalyBorn as a Rosette- 1947EventThe World Seen From the North Pole
1948GuamA Sling Stone in the Middle
1948South KoreaA Flagpole Shaped Like a Bud
1948North KoreaA Disc Moves Toward the Pole
1948IsraelSeven Stars for Short Workdays
1949SamoaEveryone Stands Still
1949GermanyDyed Black, Trimmed in Red
1949ChinaOne Big Star, Four Small
1950PeruInspired by Flamingos- 1953EventFour Flags on an Ice Axe
1954SomaliaA Design by Next Morning
1954Åland IslandsA Cross Inside a Cross
1957HungaryTogether Since a Coronation- 1957EventA Word for Flag Fans
1958MadagascarColors Without a Meaning
1958GuineaRwanda Added a Black R
1958Central African RepublicA Flag for a Bigger Dream
1959BruneiStripes for Two Ministers
1959ChadBlue Instead of Green
1959NigerAlmost Square
1959Ivory CoastHeld the Other Way Round
1959SingaporeThree Stars Became Five
1959Cayman IslandsNamed for the Turtles- 1959EventPennants to the Moon
1960American SamoaDrawn by a Student
1960TogoA Young Artist's Flag
1960GabonA Stripe for the Equator
1960CyprusNo Blue, No Red, No Cross
1960NigeriaBeating Almost 3,000 Entries
1960British Virgin IslandsEleven Lamps for 11,000
1960MontserratA Woman With an Irish Harp
1960SenegalA Star for a Figure- 1960EventThe Year of Africa
1961MaliThe Figure That Was Removed
1961Sierra LeoneFirst the Arms, Then the Flag
1961KuwaitColors From a Poem
1962AlgeriaFixed for Good
1962JamaicaA Competition With No Winner
1962Trinidad and TobagoAn Artist's Diagonal Stripe
1962UgandaDropped for Fading
1962NepalA Flag With a Drawing Manual
1963MalaysiaFour Entries in Three Days
1963KenyaWhite Stripes for Everyone
1964TanzaniaA Blend of Two Flags
1964MaltaA Flag With English Words
1964ZambiaAn Eagle at the Edge
1964PalestineFour Colors, One Order
1965CanadaTested in a Wind Tunnel
1965GambiaDesigned by an Accountant
1965MaldivesPlain Red, Then a Crescent
1966BotswanaEvery Entry Was Hopeless
1966BarbadosSeven Flags From a Shop
1966GhanaA Star From a Shipping Line
1966GuyanaThe Golden Arrowhead
1967Antigua and BarbudaA Sculptor Wins the Contest
1967St. LuciaAn Artist's Flag
1967BurundiThe Drum Only Kings Understood
1968NauruWhite Like Phosphate
1968MauritiusA Retired Teacher's Design
1968MexicoLonger Than Italy's
1968EswatiniThe King's Own Flag
1968Turks and Caicos IslandsThe Igloo on the Old Badge
1969BhutanA Flag That Wouldn't Flutter- 1969EventA Flag With a Rod
1970SudanA Prize of Ten Pounds
1970FijiTwo Thousand Designs, No Change
1970OmanA Mountain in Green
1971Papua New GuineaWon by a 15-Year-Old
1971QatarPurple From Sea Snails
1971United Arab EmiratesA Teenager's Winning Design
1972BangladeshA Circle That Looks Centered
1972Sri LankaA King's Banner Went to England
1973BahamasPirates Expelled
1973Guinea-BissauRed at the Pole, on Purpose
1974GrenadaSeven Stars, Seven Parishes- 1974EventTwo Letters per Country
1975CameroonA Shrimp for the Red Stripe
1975NiueDesigned by the Premier's Wife
1975AngolaA Pole as Tall as a Year
1975SurinameThe Flag Before the Star
1975LaosA Full Moon Over the Mekong
1975São Tomé and PríncipeA Flag on 39 Ships
1976Aruba693 Ideas, One Flag
1977DjiboutiHoisted by the Police Chief
1977Solomon IslandsFive Stars, Five Provinces
1978DominicaA Playwright's Flag
1978MicronesiaSix Stars Became Four
1978SpainNamed for a Dye Plant
1979Marshall IslandsThe Star With the Most Points
1979Norfolk IslandA Pine That Failed as Masts
1979KiribatiThey Said No to Bigger
1979Equatorial GuineaThe Silk-Cotton Tree
1979Cook IslandsFifteen Stars for Fifteen Islands
1980VanuatuThirty-Nine Leaflets
1980ZimbabweA Bird Added Later
1980IranTwenty-Two Times
1981PalauJapan Is Japan, Palau Is Palau
1981JerseyA Misread Word?
1981BelizeNineteen Colors
1981Caribbean NetherlandsBuilt From Many Entries
1982GibraltarA Castle That Isn't Real
1982Canary IslandsA Paper Flag in 1961
1983Mozambique169 Designs, One Decision
1983St. Kitts and NevisA Student Wins the Contest
1984Pitcairn IslandsSymbols of the Bounty
1984CuraçaoA Flag Children Can Draw
1984Burkina FasoA Flag for a New Name
1984EgyptA Hawk Becomes an Eagle
1984French PolynesiaMade With His Students
1985Sint MaartenA Seventeen-Year-Old's Flag
1985GreenlandA Rowing Club's Surprise
1985Northern Mariana IslandsA Stone, a Wreath and a Star
1985St. Vincent and the GrenadinesSwapped a Breadfruit Leaf
1985GuernseyMistaken for a Second England- 1985EventTwelve Stars That Never Change
1986Christmas IslandThe Golden Bosun Bird
1986HaitiSewn by Catherine Flon
1988LithuaniaToo Gloomy Without Yellow
1989RomaniaThe Flag With the Hole
since 1990
1990LatviaA Teacher's Flag in a Castle
1990NamibiaThree Designers, One Flag
1990YemenLeft Out on Purpose
1990BeninA Nod to Ethiopia
1990EstoniaSilk Sewn in 1884
1990ArmeniaStubborn About Orange
1990BulgariaSewn in Brăila
1990CroatiaA Crown Full of Animals
1990AnguillaFrom Mermaids to Dolphins
1990British Indian Ocean TerritoryA Flag for a Commissioner
1990MoldovaA Blue From a Monastery
1991AzerbaijanA Record Pole in Baku
1991Republic of the CongoRaised Over a Former Headquarters
1991SloveniaMount Triglav on a Shield
1991UzbekistanFirst in Central Asia
1991RussiaPeter the Great's Yacht Flag
1992UkraineChosen to Resist the Sun
1992MongoliaFish That Never Sleep
1992KyrgyzstanRays Made Straight
1992AlbaniaThe Flag From Beside the Bed
1992KazakhstanGold Instead of Red
1992SlovakiaA Shield Against Mix-Ups
1992Cape VerdeNo More Mix-Ups
1992TajikistanA Flag Named for a Tassel
1993CzechiaA Blue Wedge Against Mix-Ups
1993EritreaThirty Leaves for Thirty Years
1993CambodiaColors That Spell a Motto
1994South AfricaA Temporary Flag That Stayed
1995BelarusA Flag That Had to Stand Out
1995North MacedoniaTwelve Suns in a Month
1996EthiopiaRed Used to Be on Top
1996SeychellesMistaken for a Steamship Line
1997TurkmenistanOlive Branches for Neutrality
1997TuvaluEight Standing Together
1997Hong KongA Flower Found at Home
1998Bosnia and HerzegovinaWhen Lawmakers Couldn't Agree
1999Falkland IslandsThe Ship Called Desire
1999MacaoA Lotus With Three Petals
2001ComorosFour Islands, Four Stripes
2001RwandaA Flag Held at Weddings
2002BahrainDown to Five Points
2002East TimorA Midnight Handover
2004GeorgiaFive Crosses on an Old Map
2004Cocos (Keeling) IslandsAustralia's Colors, Their Own Flag
2004MontenegroA Border, Not a Fringe
2004SerbiaJust Turn It Upside Down
2005South SudanOlder Than Its Country
2006Democratic Republic of the CongoThe Six Small Stars
2006VenezuelaThe Eighth Star
2006LesothoA Hat That Changed Color
2008IraqTemporary Since 2008
2008Kosovo993 Entries, Six Stars
2009TokelauA Canoe Sailing to the Cross
2010Myanmar (Burma)Hoisted at 3 p.m.- 2010EventA Flag Hidden in Two Letters
2011San MarinoA Law After Almost 150 Years
2011LibyaA Draft at Breakfast
2012MalawiBingu's Flag- 2016EventThe Silver Fern Vote
2017MauritaniaDraw It in This Order- 2020EventA Fabric Flag on the Moon
2023MartiniqueThe Hummingbird That Was Dropped
2025SyriaA Flag From the 1930s