Flags of the World

Pakistan Flag

The national Pakistani flag has a dark green base with a vertical stripe on the left side of the flag. On the green area of the flag is a crescent pointing to the top, right corner; and a white five-point star. The green of the flag is the traditional color of the nation's religion, Islam. The star and crescent are Islamic symbols. The white of the flag symbolizes the non-Muslim religions in Pakistan. The white stripe symbolizes peace, the green symbolizes prosperity, the star symbolizes knowledge and the crescent symbolizes progress.

The flag of Pakistan was adopted on August 14, 1947.

Palau Flag

The Palau national flag is a sky blue background with a yellow circle that sits just left of the center of the flag. The blue of the flag represents the political maturity of Palau and its journey to independence. The yellow circle symbolizes the moon, which according to Palauan belief is the best time for traditional activities like festivals and fishing.

The flag was based on a design by Mr. Blau Skebong and was adopted on January 1, 1981.

Palestine Flag

The national flag of Palestine is almost identical to the flag of Jordan. The only difference between the two flag is the white star on the Jordanian flag. The Palestine flag has a red horizontal triangle pointing to the right side of the flag and three horizontal stripes of equal width. The colors of the stripes from top to bottom are black, white and green.

Panama Flag

The Panama flag is divided into four quadrants. The top left corner has a white base with a blue five-point star. The top right corner is solid red. The lower left corner is solid blue and the lower right corner is white with a red, five-point star. The colors of the flag represent the two political parties of Panama, the Liberals and the Conservatives. The white of the flag is symbolic of the peace between the two parties. The solid blue portion represents the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea while the red portion is symbolic of the blood shed to gain independence. The blue star is for purity and honesty and the red star represents the authority of the law.

The flag of Panama was adopted on December 20, 1903, but not approved for official use until 1925.

Papua-New Guinea Flag

The Papua-New Guinea flag is divided into to equal halves, diagonally, from the top left to the bottom right. The left side of the flag is black and the right side of the flag is red. On the black half are five, five-pointed stars representing the constellation of the Southern Cross. On the red side of the flag is a yellow bird of paradise. The colors of the flag are traditional colors of the country that are found in clothing and art. The five stars on the flag represent the five stars in the Southern Cross; Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon. Epsilon is represented by the smallest of the five stars because it doesn't shine as brightly as the other stars. The stars also represent the country's position geographically. The bird of paradise represents the freedom of the country and its birth as an independent nation.

Papua-New Guinea gained independence from Australia in 1975 but the flag was officially adopted on July 1, 1971.

Paraguay Flag

The Paraguay national flag has three horizontal stripes of equal width. From the top to bottom the colors are red, white and blue. There are two sides of the flag each with different symbols in the middle of the white stripe. In the center of the flag on the front is the country's Coat of Arms, and on the back the Treasury Seal. The red stripe of the flag represents courage, patriotism and equality. The white stripe is for peace, unity and purity and the blue stripe represents benevolence, liberty and truth. The Coat of Arms on the front side symbolizes the date of Paraguay's independence, May 14, 1811.

The flag was officially adopted on November 27, 1842 and is one of the oldest flags still flown in the world. Paraguay is the only world flag that has different symbols on each side.

Peru Flag

The Peruvian national flag has three vertical stripes of equal width. The left stripe and right outer stripes are red and the middle stripe is white. The red stripe of the flag symbolizes the blood that was shed for the freedom of Peru. The white stripe is symbolic of peace. The flag was designed by a general and Argentinean hero, Jose de San Martin.

Peru gained its independence from Spain in 1821 and the flag was adopted four years later on February 25, 1825.

Philippines Flag

The national flag of the Philippines has a horizontal triangle on the left, point right. Inside the triangle are three, five-point stars in each corner of the triangle and a yellow sun in the center. The remainder of the flag is divided into two equal horizontal parts. The top of the flag is blue and the bottom of the flag is red. The white triangle is symbolic of equality and the Katipunan nationalist organization. The three stars are for the three main geographical parts of the Philippines; Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas. The sun on the flag has eight rays. The sun represents independence and the rays on the sun are for the eight provinces that were part of the uprising against Spain. The blue stripe on the flag represents justice and patriotism. The red stripe is for the blood shed for freedom and for valor.

The Philippine flag was adopted on September 16, 1997. This version of the flag was used from 1898 to 1907 and was also used intermittently though the following century.

Poland Flag

The national Polish flag has two equal halves. The flag is divided into two horizontal stripes. The top stripe is white and the bottom stripe is red. The colors on the flag represent the colors on the Polish Coat of Arms. The white stripe symbolizes peace and the red stripe represents that blood shed as the country fought for independence.

The flag of Poland was adopted officially on February 9, 1990

Portugal Flag

The national flag of Portugal has two vertical stripes; the right side is wider than the left. The stripe on the left side on the flag is green and stripe on the right side is red. Where the colors meet is the Coat of Arms of Portugal. The green on the flag represents hope and the red stripe is symbolic of the Portuguese revolution of 1910. The Coat of Arms has a white shield and five blue shields with five white dots.

The flag of Portugal was adopted on June 30, 1911.