Flags of the World

Bahamas Flag

The national Bahamas Flag is made of up a black triangle and three horizontal stripes, two turquoise stripes and a gold stripe. The flag was officially adopted on July 10, 1973. The black triangle on the left side of the flag represents the people of the Bahamas.

The two turquoise stripes represent the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the gold stripe between them represents the sun and sand of the Bahamian islands.

Bahrain Flag

The Bahrain flag has an interesting design. The flag has a red base with a white vertical stripe on the left side. There are five white triangles on the right side of the stripe that give a zigzag effect to the flag. The current Bahrain flag was adopted after the Emir of Bahrain declared the country a kingdom and himself the king on February 14, 2002.

The red portion of the Bahrain flag represents the Kharijite sect of Islam and the five white triangles represent the five pillars of Islam. The triangles on the flag were added in the 19th century to distinguish the flag from flags of neighboring countries. There are strict laws concerning the Bahrain flag. It may not be used for commercial purpose, and cannot appear on any vehicle other than a government vehicle. If a person violates the flag laws they will face jail time and fines.

Bangladesh Flag

The official Bangladesh flag has a green base and a red circle slightly to the left of the cent. The flag was officially adopted on January 17, 1972. The green base of the flag symbolizes the lush fields of the country and the red circle represents the rising sun as well as the blood shed by the Bangladesh people while fighting for their independence.

The reason that the red circle is slightly off center to the left is so that when the flag is flying on a mast the circle will appear to be in the center of the Bangladesh flag.

Barbados Flag

The Barbados Flag consists of three equal vertical stripes, two blue and one gold, with a gold with a black trident head in the that stripe. The flag of Barbados was adopted on November 30, 1966. The black trident is also known as the 'broken trident' and symbolizes Barbados' independence from the United Kingdom. Each point on the trident represents the democratic government of the people, for the people and by the people.

The blue stripes on the Barbados Flag symbolize the sky and the ocean, while the gold stripe symbolizes the sand of the island nation.

Belarus Flag

The flag of Belarus has a very unique pattern on it. The top two-thirds of the flag is red while the bottom third is green. There is a stripe down the left side of the flag with a traditional red and white Belarus decorative pattern. The red on the flag symbolizes the country's past and the blood shed by those who have defended Belarus. The green stripe is for the lush forests and fields as well as symbolizing hope. The decorative red and white stripe on the side is for the rich cultural heritage and the unity of the Belarus people.

The national flag of Belarus was officially adopted on June 7, 1995 and is very similar to the flag used by Belarus while under rule of the Soviet Union.

Belgium Flag

The national flag of Belguim was adopted on January 23, 1831 after Belgium gained their independence from the Netherlands in 1830. The Belgium flag has three equal vertical stripes. The stripes from left to right are black, yellow and red. Those colors are based on the coat of arms of the Brabant province. The design with its three vertical stripes was based on the design of the French flag. Disrespect shown to the Belgium flag in any form may result in imprisonment up to one year and a fine. The proportions of this flag in height to length are 13:15 making it almost a square shape.

Belize Flag

The national flag of Belize has a blue base with a thin red stripe on the top and bottom and a white circle in the middle with a coat of arms surrounded by 50 olive leaves. The Belize coat of arms on the flag has a man holding an axe on the left side and a man holding an oar on the right side. There is a tree above the coat of arms and the Belize motto below.

The 50 olive leaves that surround the coat of arms represent the year, 1950, that Belize began its fight for independence from British Honduras. The current flag was officially adopted on September 21, 1981. The Belize motto 'Sub umbra floreo' which appears on the flag means 'I flourish from the shadow', in reference to their former dependence on the United Kingdom.

Benin Flag

The Benin Flag consist of three colors, green, yellow and red. A green vertical stripe is on the left side of the flag. Two equal stripes of yellow and red run horizontal on the right side of the flag. The horizontal stripes are equal in size. The green of the flag symbolizes hope and revival; the red is courage of their ancestors and the yellow stripe symbolizes the wealth of Benin.

The national flag of Benin was adopted originally in 1959 and abandoned in 1975. It was then re-adopted on August 1, 1990 after the exit of the Marxist regime. Benin was formally known as the Republic of Dahomey and gained independence in 1960, but did not have its current name until 1975.

Bermuda Flag

The national flag of Bermuda has an image that can be seen on many countries with ties to the United Kingdom. The red flag has a Union Jack in the upper left hand corner and the Bermuda coat of arms in the lower right corner.

The Union Jack is on the Bermuda flag because the country is an island territory of the United Kingdom. The flag was officially approved in 1967 but had been officially adopted October 4, 1920. Some versions of the Bermuda flag have a motto under the coat of arms but the official version has no motto.

Bhutan Flag

The flag of Bhutan has a unique design in that it is divided diagonally from the bottom left to the top right. The left diagonal half is yellow and the right diagonal half is orange. There is a white dragon emblem in the center along the middle of the flag with its head pointing toward the top right.

The Bhutan flag was officially adopted in 1969 and the reason for the white dragon is the name 'Bhutan' in the local dialect means Land of the Dragon. The white of the dragon symbolizes purity and the open mouth of the dragon the strength of the Bhutan people. The dragon holds gems in each of its four claws to represent the country's wealth. The colors represent the spiritual power of the country as the orange represents the Buddhist religion and Drukpas monasteries and the yellow represents the dynasty's secular authority.

Bolivia Flag

The Bolivian National flag has three equal horizontal stripes in red, yellow and green. The state version of the Bolivia flag has the country's coat of arms in the middle. The red stripe at the top of the flag stands for the bravery of their soldiers, the yellow is for the mineral resources of Bolivia and the green stripe is for the fertile land.

This version of the flag was officially adopted on October 31, 1851. The flag of Ghana is almost identical to the Bolivia flag, only difference between the two is a black star on the Ghana flag.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Flag

The Botswana flag is mostly light blue with a thick black horizontal stripe in the middle and two small white stripes on the top and bottom of that black stripe. The colors used are the same as those in Botswana's coat of arms. The blue in the flag represents water and the black and white stripes represent the harmony of the countries races. The stripes are also inspired by the Botswana national animal, the zebra. This flag became the official flag of Botswana on September 30, 1966 after it became independent of England. Laws in Botswana require that citizens have permission from the government before flying their nation's flag.

Brazil Flag

The official Brazil flag has a green base with a yellow diamond shape in the center and a blue circle centered in that with different sized white stars and a white banner in the center of the circle with the Brazilian motto written on it. The motto 'Ordem e Progresso' translates to 'Order and Progress'.

The green and yellow on the Brazil flag are for the Royal Houses of Braganca and Habsburg. The white stars have two meanings, first there are 27 white stars that represent the states and Federal District of Brazil and the second meaning is depicting the night sky on November 15, 1889, the day in which Brazil declared their independence. It is widely believed that the yellow also represents the vast amounts of gold that have come from Brazil.

Brunei Flag

The Brunei National Flag is twice as long as it is tall. It features a golden yellow base with a white and black stripe running diagonally from the top left to the bottom right. The white stripe is slightly wider than the black one. In the center of the flag is the Brunei coat of arms in red. The symbol is a crescent connected to a parasol with gloved hands on both sides. Under the crescent is a ribbon with the Arabic inscriptions that translate to 'State of Brunei, Abode of peace' and 'There is no deity but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God'. The crescent is a symbol of Islam and the parasol is a symbol of monarchy.

This version of the flag was officially adopted on September 29, 1959 and was kept even after Brunei gained it's independence in 1984 from England.

Bulgaria Flag

The Bulgaria flag is another simple flag with three equal horizontal stripes. The three stripes from top to bottom are white, green and red. The white stripe symbolizes peace, the green is for the fertile land of the country and the red symbolizes the courage of the Bulgarian people.

The flag of Bulgaria was officially adopted on April 16, 1879 and the flag featured the country's coat of arms on the left side of the top stripe until it was removed in 1989.

Burkina Faso Flag

The Burkina Faso national flag was adopted on August 4, 1984 and has three colors. There are two horizontal stripes on the flag, the top red and the bottom green, along with a five pointed yellow star in the middle.

The three colors of the Burkina Faso flag are traditional African colors. The red symbolizes revolution, the green is for the natural riches that are abundant in the country and the yellow star is symbolic of the guiding light leading the revolution.

Burma Flag

The nation of Burma is also known as Myanmar. The Burma flag was adopted on January 3, 1974. The flag has a red base and a blue rectangular in the top left corner. Inside that rectangle is a bushel of rice atop a cog wheel surrounded by 14 five point stars.

The 14 stars represent the administrative divisions of Burma. White symbolizes purity, blue is for integrity and peace and the red, as always, symbolizes courage. The cog wheel represents the industry of Burma and the rice bushel represents the agriculture.

Burundi Flag

The National flag of Burundi has a white x on it that divides the flag into four sections. The top and bottom sections are red and the side sections are green. In the center of the flag is a white circle. There are three stars in a triangular configuration in the center circle of the flag. The three six-pointed stars are red with a green outline. White represents peace, the green represents hope and the red represents the struggle for independence. The three stars refer to the words 'Unite, Travial, Progres' (translated from French to English as 'Unity, Work, Progress') of the nation's motto.

The flag was officially adopted on June 28, 1967; 5 years after Burundi became independent of Belgium. It is widely heard that Burundi civilians may only use the flag on holidays.