The prettiest flags in the world

The flags of each country represent a culture, they represent the pride we have for the country we belong to, and provide a symbol of the place we live in.

Not long ago (2012) the flags of all the nations of the world were gathered in order to see which was the most beautiful flag in the world, there was sent an invitation in every corner of the world and even in countries which were in difficult terrains (some of which we hardly knew their existence). The collection of the flags had stunning and elegant appearances, because all of them wanted to take the chance and become the most beautiful flag in the world. We saw all kinds of colors together: red, green, blue, purple, black, and white, yellow, brown, etc… If you scroll down you will see who won the contest (source of poll: here).

20. Dominican Republic

Flag of Dominican Republic
Flag of Dominican Republic

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It consists of the colors: ultramarine blue and vermilion red, in corner and alternate barracks so that the blue must be at the top of the flagpole, separated by a white cross with a width equal to half the height of each barracks , bearing in its center the coat of arms of the Dominican Republic. According to personal appreciations of distinguished men of Dominican letters, the colors of the National Flag have a particular meaning. Thus, as “the red represents the blood shed by our liberators; the blue expresses that God protects the Dominican nation; and the white cross is the symbol of our liberators’ struggle to bequeath us a free homeland.” For others, “the blue of our national teaching represents ideals of progress and freedom; the red expresses the blood shed by the heroes of the Fatherland; and the white symbolizes peace and union among all Dominicans.” Many Dominicans possibly ignore the correct uses of the national symbols, being one of the most important our National Flag. Given the importance of this symbol of the country being displayed correctly and with pride by all Dominicans, both February 27 and August 16, and other important historical dates; Some of the appropriate rules for its use are published below, which confer the dignified act of showing off in our homes and public places, its deep meaning of firm identification with our country, of which we must aspire to be all, worthy and grateful children. When placed horizontally on a wall, the flag should be hung on the right side, so that the blue upper quarter that is attached to the right edge of the halyard is to the left of the observer. When the national pavilion is placed vertically on a wall, the blue barracks in the upper corner, which is attached to the thick edge of the halyard, should be to the left of the observer. During a parade, when other flags are displayed next to the Dominican, ours will always be placed on the right.

19. Lebanon

Flag of Lebanon
Flag of Lebanon

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The flag of Lebanon was approved just before the independence of France in 1943, it was drawn up for the first time by deputy Henri Pharaon adopted on December 7, 1943. It is formed by two red horizontal stripes wrapping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is twice a red one (1: 2: 1 ratio). The Lebanese cedar brushes each of the red stripes and its width is one third of the width of the flag. The cedar must be totally green with respect to the provisions of the Constitution. It was designed to be a neutral flag, not attached to any of Lebanon’s religious groups. The red stripes symbolize the blood shed in the noble goal of liberation. The white stripe symbolizes peace, and the white of the snow that covers the mountains of Lebanon. The green cedar, (cedar of Lebanon) symbolizes immortality and stability.

18. Germany

Flag of Germany
Flag of Germany

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It consists of three horizontal stripes with the colors black, red and gold, which represent the values of unity and freedom. These colors are associated with the republican democracy formed after the Second World War.

17. Australia

Flag of Australia
Flag of Australia

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As we already said, the background of the Australian flag is blue, which symbolizes justice. We can find in the upper left the English flag or Union Jack, which recalls the fact that Australia was a colony of Great Britain. Below this, there is a star with seven points representing the Australian Federation. Each point of the star represents one of the six states (New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia) and the Federation. On the right we can make out the Southern Cross, which is an exclusive constellation of the southern hemisphere of the planet, which can be seen clearly from Australia. It is worth mentioning that, despite the symbolic value of the flag, the most representative colors of Australia are green and gold, which are widely used in sports. The Aussies are more identified with these colors than with those of the official flag. The reason is that they want to mark the border between the Australian colonial past and the future of modern Australia.

16. Italy

Flag of Italy
Flag of Italy

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Milan had the privilege of seeing it for the first time in November 1796. It was Napoleon himself who delivered a banner with the colors white (center), red (right) and green (left), to a corps of volunteers of the Lombard Legion, 3,500 soldiers who would later join the French Navy. This symbol, now in a museum, is regarded as a trophy, along with the cape and scepter worn by Napoléon when he was crowned King of Italy in 1805. On January 7, 1797, the tricolor was adopted as the insignia of the Cispadana Republic gathered in Reggio Emilia. Why the three colors? Probably for the insignia of a sect that developed an important role in the politics of those times, and Reggio Emilia then proposed to adopt the tricolor as the flag of the new free state constituted in those days.
In the Assembly of Reggio, it was proposed to unite Milan to the four cities of Emilia, already entering the Napoleonic orbit. Since it was not possible, it was decided to establish an ideal union with the adoption of the same flag. The Italian flag was then born between the Lombard Legion and the Cisalpine Republic; from there it passed to the Cisalpine Republic, in which the Cispada territories also converged, then to the Italian Republic and finally to the Kingdom of Italy. With the fall of Napoleon in 1814, it disappeared, oppressed by the restoration, to reappear as a symbol in the five days of Milan; At the same time it was hoisted on the bell towers of Milan, and on the highest point of the city, La Madonnina del Duomo. When all Milan realized that the tricolor was waving over the Madonnina, the patriots at the barricades put down their rifles to embrace each other as a sign of joy. On March 24, 1848, while the Austrians were leaving the city, another historical event for the flag happened; King Carlo Alberto di Savoia distributed the tricolor flag to the Piedmontese troops entering Lombardy, to put a strong hand on the insurgents. And to demonstrate the union of his House with the “Italian Revolution”, he arranged that the Savoyard shield be placed at the center of it. Since then, the tricolor is found in all phases of Italian history; In 1849 in Rome, it was constituted the Roman Republic, Mazzini adopts the tricolor as its flag, writing “God and the People” on the white strip. But the Italian flag had a definitive modification with the proclamation of the kingdom of Italy on March 17, 1861. The tricolor with the Savoyard shield superimposed by the royal crown, remains intact for 80 more years, until the fall of the monarchy, on June 2, 1946. From that moment on, the flag is made up of the same three colors (green, white and red) without any insignia. The 19th century poet Francesco Dall’Ongaro explained the colors as a visual description of the Italian territory. “White like the Alps, red like the volcanoes and green like the plains of Lombardy”, he wrote in one of his texts.

15. Pakistan

Flag of Pakistan
Flag of Pakistan

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The green in Pakistan flag represents prosperity;  and the white symbolizes peace; the white crescent represents progress; and the white star represents light and knowledge.

14. South Korea

Flag of South Korea
Flag of South Korea

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The Korean flag is called “Taegukki”. Its design symbolizes the “Yin and Yang” principles of Eastern philosophy. Notice that the circle in the center of the flag is divided into two equal portions. The upper red part represents the positive cosmic forces of Yang. Conversely, the lower blue part represents the negative cosmic forces of Yin. The two forces together incorporate the concepts of continuous motion, balance, and harmony that characterize the universe. The circle is surrounded by four “trigrams” at each angle. Each trigram symbolizes one of the four elements of the universe: sky (upper left), earth (lower right), fire (lower left), and water (upper right).

13. India

Flag of India
Flag of India

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The national flag was designed as a symbol of freedom. Former Prime Minister Nehru called it “a flag not only of freedom for us, but a symbol of freedom for all people.” The flag is tricolor with horizontal stripes in equal proportion, intense saffron above, white in the middle and dark green below. The width to length ratio of the flag is two by three. In the center of the white band there is a navy blue wheel that indicates the Dharma Chakra, the wheel of law in the Sarnath Lion Capital. Its diameter approximates the width of the white stripe, and it has 24 rays. The color saffron signifies courage, sacrifice and the spirit of renunciation, white for purity and truth and green for faith and fertility.

12. Finland

Flag of Finland
Flag of Finland

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The flag of Finland with “the blue of our lakes and the white snow of our winters”, as one poet described these symbolic colors in 1870, was declared official by a law promulgated on May 29, 1918, almost six months after the independence of Finland. A new law came into force in 1978. The national flag The national flag has a rectangular shape and its dimensions are: 11 high by 18 wide. The cross has a width of 3 and color PMS294C and is located at a height of 4. The length of the area from the shaft to the cross is 5, with the rest of the surface to the end being 10 units. Any Finnish citizen enjoys the right to raise the national flag. With certain exceptions, it appears on Finnish ships as their national insignia. The day of the summer solstice is the day of the Finnish flag.

11. Albania

Flag of Albania
Flag of Albania

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History of the flag: On a field of Gules of proportions (5/7), a double-headed saber eagle. The eagle comes from George Castriota, an Albanian Christian who became a Turkish general in the 15th century under the name of Iskander Bey, or Skanderbeg (a name popularly given to the flag). Iskander Bey returned to the Christian faith and later led the fight of the Albanians against the Turks in the 1440’s. He used the Byzantine double-headed eagle on his stamps, and it is the origin of the modern flag of Albania. The current flag is in force since April 7, 1992.

10. Bhutan

Flag of Bhutan
Flag of Bhutan

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The national flag of Bhutan is a rectangle that is divided diagonally into two parts. The upper half of yellow color symbolizes the secular power and authority of the king, while the lower half of orange color symbolizes the practice of religion and the power of Buddhism, manifested in the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. The dragon represents the name and purity of the country, while the jewels in its claws represent the wealth and perfection of the country.

9. Philippines

Flag of the Philippines
Flag of the Philippines

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The flag of the Philippines is made up of two horizontal stripes of equal size. The upper one is the red one that represents the blood, courage and struggle of all those who had to do with the achievement of their independence. The blue stripe, which is the bottom one, signifies the unity and ideals of the country. It has a white triangle near the mast with a golden sun that symbolizes the rebirth of an independent nation, it is surrounded by three five-pointed stars that are the symbolism of Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas. The flag was designed in 1897 by General Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the revolutionary government, when he resided in Hong Kong during his exile and already initiated the Philippine revolution against Spanish rule. The original flag was made up of the same elements as the current version, but the sun was represented with a mythological face and its rays were more numerous.

8. Greece

Flag of Greece
Flag of Greece

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The flag of Greece was adopted in 1830 after the revolutionary movements. The color of the flag of Greece represents the sea. The nine white and blue bands represent the emblem: “O freedom O death.” It is popularly said that the nine stripes correspond to the nine syllables of “elefzería í zánatos” (eleuthería oí thánatos), which means “freedom or death”. In the upper corner near the mast there is a blue square with a white cross that is a symbol of the Greek Orthodox Church.

7. Spain

Flag of Spain
Flag of Spain

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Starting with the colors, we all know that the flag of Spain is red, yellow and red, the central yellow being twice the size of the red ones; for this reason it is known as ‘la rojigualda’. Apparently there are several theories about the meaning of these colors, but the most logical is the one that says that red represents the blood shed by the Spanish in their conquests and defenses of the homeland. And the yellow or gold color represents the wealth obtained in these conquests.

6. Portugal

Flag of Portugal
Flag of Portugal

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With the proclamation of the Republic in 1910, many republicans wanted to erase some symbols of the old regime. The royal flag was white and blue. In this way, these colors have been replaced by green and red, signifying hope and courage, respectively. However, in Portugal they referred to the colors of the Portuguese Republican Party and Freemasonry that were the ones that started the coup that overthrew the king. It is important to note that green occupies 1/3 of the flag and red 2/3, since this reminds us of the Iberian integralism project. Thus, the green would be Portugal and the red, Spain, united in the form of a utopian federalism.

5.  United States of America

Flag of USA
Flag of USA

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The 50 stars that appear on the flag above the blue background, represent the states of the country; This was modified over time as territories were gained, so in 1960 the last one symbolizing Hawaii was added. The flag has 13 stripes in total; seven red and six white, which symbolize the original 13 colonies of the country: Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North and South Carolina and Georgia.

4. Canada

Flag of Canada
Flag of Canada

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It is known as the Red Leaf, and since 1965 it has been used officially in the country. Previously it was used unofficially, the only valid one was that of the United Kingdom, due to Canada’s membership of the Commonwealth of Nations and its loyalty to the Crown. Even so, the British Red Ensign continues to have the official character in Canada, but the flag with the leaf is a Canadian symbol.

3. Brazil

Flag of Brazil
Flag of Brazil

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Designed in 1822. The symbols it has represent the royal families of Braganza and Hamburg, to which the first Imperial house belonged. In the center there is a blue sphere, which symbolizes the sky of Rio de Janeiro with its 27 stars, one for each federal district.

2. United Kingdom

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

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The flag of England is a national symbol that represents this country and its culture. It is characterized by being a white cloth and on this the cross of Saint George, which is a Greek cross and red in color. In many cases it is known by the name Cross of Saint George.

1. Mexico

Flag of Mexico
Flag of Mexico

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Each color of the flag has an important meaning: Green, symbolizes hope; white, is unity, and red, represents the blood of national heroes. This was established since September 16, 1968 and, under the law, in the Ministry of the Interior in 1984.