Flags are basically logos for countries. Some are iconic, some are surprisingly easy to mix up. How many do you really know?
10 questions on national flags: the unusual shapes, the iconic symbols, the countries with dragons on them, and the ones that trip everyone up.
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Think of flags as brand logos for countries. Like all logos, some are instantly recognisable and some are astonishingly similar to their neighbours. Red, white and blue turn up on more flags than any other combination, which means the details matter more than you might think.
A few flags are genuinely unique: Nepal is the only country with a non-rectangular flag, Cambodia is the only one to show a building (Angkor Wat), and Bhutan is one of the rare countries to put a dragon front and centre. This quiz covers the iconic and the unexpected.
All ten easy level questions, with the answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: 13
Thirteen, one for each of the original colonies. The 50 is the stars.
Correct answer: Green, white and orange
Green, white and orange, for Catholic, peace and Protestant traditions.
Correct answer: Blue and yellow
Blue and yellow, with a Nordic cross.
Correct answer: A taegeuk (yin-yang)
A red and blue taegeuk, surrounded by four trigrams.
Correct answer: A wheel
A wheel, the 24-spoke Ashoka Chakra, in navy blue.
Correct answer: The Southern Cross
The Southern Cross, along with the Union Jack and a seven-pointed star.
Correct answer: The Jolly Roger
The Jolly Roger, which looks rather less jolly up close.
Correct answer: Five
Five, designed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1913.
Correct answer: Red and yellow
Red and yellow, with the coat of arms to one side.
Correct answer: Green
Green, with the Shahada in white above a sword.
Want to warm up before playing or double-check something? Open any question to reveal the correct answer and a short explanation.
Correct answer: Nepal
Nepal is the only country with a non-rectangular national flag. It consists of two stacked triangular pennants forming a double-pennant silhouette, said to represent the peaks of the Himalayas.
Correct answer: 50
The US flag (Stars and Stripes) has 50 stars representing the 50 states. The 13 horizontal stripes (7 red and 6 white) represent the original 13 colonies. The 50th star, for Hawaii, was added in 1960.
Correct answer: A maple leaf
Canada's flag, adopted on 15 February 1965, features an 11-pointed red maple leaf on a white background flanked by two red bands. The maple leaf has been a national symbol of Canada since the 19th century.
Correct answer: An eagle
Mexico's flag shows an eagle perched on a nopal cactus with a snake in its beak. This image comes from the Aztec legend that told them to found their city where they saw this sign, on the site of present-day Mexico City.
Correct answer: Switzerland
Switzerland has one of the rare square flags, featuring a white cross on a red background. The Red Cross flag is the inverse: a red cross on white, designed as a tribute to Switzerland.
Correct answer: A red sun disc
Japan's flag, known as the Nisshoki or Hinomaru (circle of the sun), features a red disc on a white background. It is one of the oldest and most recognisable flags in the world. The red represents the sun, the white represents purity.
Correct answer: A dragon
Bhutan's flag features a white dragon (Druk) holding jewels, on a field divided into orange and yellow. Bhutan calls itself the Land of the Thunder Dragon (Druk Yul in Dzongkha, the official language).
Correct answer: Cambodia (Angkor Wat)
Cambodia's flag is the only national flag to feature a building: the temple of Angkor Wat. This 12th-century Khmer temple symbolises the Khmer civilisation and national pride.
Correct answer: Vertically (blue on the left)
The French flag has three vertical stripes of equal width: blue on the left (at the hoist), white in the centre and red on the right. This vertical arrangement sets the French Tricolore apart from many other national flags.
Correct answer: Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea's flag features a bird of paradise in flight on a red background (right side) and the Southern Cross on black (left side). These two symbols reflect the country's local wildlife and its location in the southern hemisphere.
Stuck on one, or just curious how nasty it gets? Every hard mode question is here with its answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: A grey crowned crane
A grey crowned crane, facing the hoist side on a disc of white.
Correct answer: A sword
A sword, in its right paw, and it comes from an old Sinhalese emblem.
Correct answer: Albania
Albania. It goes back to the 15th-century national hero Skanderbeg.
Correct answer: 11
Eleven, and the design was chosen after a long national debate in 1964.
Correct answer: So it looks centred when flying
So that it looks centred when the flag is flying.
Correct answer: Jamaica
Jamaica: black, green and gold. Mauritania lost the title when it added red stripes in 2017.
Correct answer: Vatican City
Vatican City, with its crossed keys and papal tiara.
Correct answer: Vexillology
Vexillology, from the Latin vexillum, a Roman military standard.
Correct answer: Belize
Belize: two men, one holding an axe and the other a paddle, stand either side of the coat of arms.
Correct answer: Blue
Blue, which is very slightly darker on Chad's flag.