Flags of the World

Samoa (Western) Flag

The Samoan national flag has a red background with the top left quadrant of the flag in blue. Inside the blue rectangle are five, white five-point stars that represent the Southern Cross Constellation. That constellation is a prominent feature in the skies of the southern hemisphere. The red on the flag symbolizes courage. The blue of the flag is for freedom and the white of the stars symbolizes purity. The Southern Cross symbolizes Samoa's geographical location and its link to New Zealand, who also has a Southern Cross on its national flag.

The flag of Samoa was adopted on February 24, 1949. The country was formerly known as Western Samoa.

San Marino Flag

The San Marino flag is divided in to two equal horizontal halves. The top half of the flag is white and the bottom half of the flag is light blue. In the center of the flag is the San Marino Coat of Arms. The Coat of Arms has a shield with three towers on three peaks flanked by wreaths. There is also a scroll that reads 'Libertas' (liberty) and a crown on Coat of Arms. The white on the flag represents the clouds and the snow capped Mt. Titano. The blue on the flag is for the sky.

The flag of San Marino was adopted on April 6, 1862 and is one of the oldest world flags still in use. The Coat of Arms dates back to the 14th century.

Sao Tome & Principe Flag

The flag of Sao Tome & Principe has a red horizontal triangle on the left side, pointing toward the right. The remainder of the flag has three horizontal stripes and two, black five-point black stars. The top and bottom stripes are green and are slightly narrower than the middle yellow stripe. The stars are positioned on the yellow stripe. The red triangle represents the country's struggle for freedom and the yellow, black and green are traditional pan African colors. The two stars stand for the two main islands.

The Sao Tome & Principe flag was adopted on November 5, 1975.

Saudi Arabia Flag

The Saudi Arabian flag has a green base with a white sword and Arabic text in the center. The sword is below the text and points to the left. The green of the flag is the traditional color of Islam. The white text is called the Shahada and is the Muslin Statement of Faith. In English it translates to 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah'. The sword represents the first Saudi king, Abdul Aziz ibn Saud and is a symbol of justice. Arabic text is read from right to left.

The flag was adopted on March 15, 1973 and may only be used for official purposes. Citizens of Saudi Arabia must fly a different flag that has a gold palm tree over two crossed swords on a green background.

Scotland Flag

The Scottish national flag has a white St. Andrews Cross on a dark blue background. The cross is a diagonal cross that runs through the middle of the flag. The Scottish flag is one of the three flags that make up the Union Jack flag. The St. Andrews Cross is on the flag because St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. The colors represent the sky and the cross after King Angus saw a vision in the clouds.

The Scottish flag has been around since as early as the 8th century and there is no official date of its adoption.

Senegal Flag

The Senegal flag has three vertical stripes of equal width. The left stripe is green, the middle stripe is yellow and the right stripe is red. There is a green five-point star in the middle of the yellow stripe. The green on the flag symbolizes the Islamic faith, hope and progress. The yellow stripe is for the country's progress achieved through hard work and natural wealth. The red is for the African struggle for independence. The star symbolizes unity and hope. The colors of the Senegal flag are traditional pan African colors.

The Senegal flag was adopted on August 20, 1960.

Serbia Flag

The Serbian national flag has the traditional tricolour Pan-Slavic colors of red, blue and white. The flag has three horizontal stripes of equal width and from top to bottom the colors are red, blue and white. Slightly to the left of the center on the flag is the Lesser Coat of Arms of Serbia. The Coat of Arms consists of a double headed eagle with a crown on top of the shield.

The Serbian flag was adopted on August 16, 2004 and is one of the newer world flags.

Seychelles Flag

The Seychelles national flag has five oblique bands that start in the lower left corner of the flag. The colors from the left to right are blue, yellow, red, white and green. Those colors represent the Seychelles People's United Party, and the Democratic Party of Seychelles. The blue symbolizes the sea and the sky; the yellow is for the sun. The red represents the unity of the nation, the white is for harmony and justice; and the green symbolizes the land. The design of the bands is symbolic of the growth and vitality of Seychelles.

The flag of Seychelles was adopted on June 18, 1996; about 20 years after the country gained its independence from Britain.

Sierra Leone Flag

The flag of Sierra Leone has three horizontal stripes. The three stripes are equal width and from top to bottom are green, white and blue. The top green stripe symbolizes the mountains, the agriculture and the country's natural wealth. The white middle stripe is for unity and justice. The bottom blue stripe symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean and the capital harbor city, Freetown.

The Sierra Leone flag was adopted on April 27, 1961 as the country gained independence from Britain.

Singapore Flag

The Singapore flag is divided into two equal horizontal stripes. The top half of the flag is red and the bottom half is white. On the left side of the red stripe is a crescent moon pointing to the right and five, white five-point stars arranged in a pentagon. The red of the flag symbolizes equality of man and universal brotherhood. The white stripe represents virtue and purity. The crescent moon symbolizes Singapore as a rising nation and the five stars are for the five ideals of the country: democracy, equality, justice, peace and progress.

The flag was adopted on December 3, 1959. The Union Jack flag flew over Singapore from 1819 until the current flag.

Slovakia Flag

The Slovakian national flag has three horizontal stripes of equal width. The colors of the stripes are white on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom. The flag also contains the country's Coat of Arms which is just to the left of the center. The Coat of Arms has a red base with blue mountains on the bottom and a white double cross. The Coat of Arms symbolizes the Slovakian links to Hungary. The colors are traditional pan Slavic and represent unity and independence.

The Slovakia flag was officially adopted on January 1, 1992.

Slovenia Flag

The national flag of Slovenia has three equal horizontal stripes in traditional pan Slavic colors of red, white and blue. From top to bottom the color order is white, blue and red. On the left side of the flag, situated on the blue and white stripes is the Slovenia Coat of Arms. The Coat of Arms features the Triglav Mountains and three yellow, five-point stars on a blue base, and is symbolic of Slovenian independence.

The flag of Slovenia was adopted on June 7, 1991.

Solomon Islands Flag

The flag of the Solomon Islands is divided into two diagonal parts with a narrow stripe running from the bottom left to the top right. The left side of the flag is blue, the stripe is yellow and the right side of the flag is green. On the blue portion of the flag are five, white, five-point stars arranged in an 'x' pattern. The blue symbolizes the ocean around the islands. The yellow represents the sun and the green symbolizes the land of the Solomon Islands. The stars, which used to represent the five districts of the country, are now said to represent the five main island groups the make up the Solomon Islands.

The Solomon Islands flag was adopted on November 18, 1977.

Somalia Flag

The national flag of Somalia has a solid blue background with a large white, five-point star in the direct center of the flag. The blue base of the flag represents the sky over Somalia and also the United Nations who helped Somalia gain independence. The white star on the flag symbolizes freedom for Africa and the five points of the star are for the five regions of the world inhabited by Somalian people.

The flag was designed by Mr. Mohammed Awale Liban and adopted on October 12, 1954.

South Africa Flag

The South African flag has a black horizontal triangle on the left side pointing to the right. That triangle has a yellow border on the top and bottom. On top of that is a green horizontal Y shape that has a thin white border on the top and bottom. The rest of the flag has two horizontal stripes with red above and blue below. There are no official meanings attached to the colors of the flag. Past meanings of the flag colors were black representing the African people, yellow for the natural resources, green for the land, white for the European people, red for the blood shed and blue for the sky.

The flag of South Africa was officially adopted on April 27, 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected president of the country. The flag was designed by South Africa's state herald, Mr. F. Brownell.

South Korea Flag

The South Korean flag has a white background with a blue yin-yang circle in the center and four black trigrams in each corner. White represents the traditional color of South Korea, the red and blue yin-yang represents the balance and harmony. The black trigrams symbolize elements of the earth; fire, wood, metal and water.

The flag was officially adopted on January 25, 1950 and is commonly known as 'Taegukki' or Great Polarity, which is symbolized by the yin-yang circle.

South Vietnam Flag

The flag of South Vietnam has a yellow background with three narrow, horizontal red stripes in the center. The yellow of the flag represents the people and the three strips are for North, Central and South Vietanm.

The flag was designed by Emperor Thanh Thai in 1890 and used by Emperor Bao Dai in 1948.

Spain Flag

The Spanish flag has three horizontal stripes. The top and bottom stripes are red and are equal width, taking up a total of one half of the flag. The middle stripe takes up the other half of the flag and is yellow. On the left side of the yellow strip is the Spanish Coat of Arms. The red and yellow of the flag are traditional Spanish colors. The Coat of Arms has a crowned shield and four quadrants. Each side of the Coat of Arms is guarded by Pillars of Hercules and each pillar represents Gibraltar and Cueta. Within the shield is the emblem of the reigning royal family of Spain.

The flag was adopted on December 19, 1981. There is also a civil flag of Spain that does not contain the Coat of Arms.

Sri Lanka Flag

The Sri Lanka national flag is twice as long as is it tall. The flag has yellow/orange background. On the left side of the flag are two vertical stripes of green and orange. The right side of the flag has a crimson red base with a lion in the center holding a sword and pipul leaves in each corner. The lion and leaves are the same color as the base color. The green stripe symbolizes the Muslims and the orange stripe symbolizes the Hindu Tamils. The yellow/orange color represents Buddhism and the crimson represents longevity. The lion is an ancient symbol of Sri Lanka and the sword represents authority. The leaves are Buddhist symbols and represent compassion, equanimity, love and sympathy.

The flag was adopted on September 7, 1978 some thirty years after Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain

St. Kitts & Nevis Flag

The national flag of St. Kitts and Nevis has a diagonal stripes that run from the bottom left to the top right. The top left area is green and the bottom right area is red. In the middle is a wide black stripe with thin yellow stripes on both sides. In the black stripe are two, five-point stars in white. The green on the flag symbolizes the fertility of the country and its agriculture. The red on the flag symbolizes the difficulty to end slavery and colonialism, and achieving independence. The black represents Africa, yellow is for the sunshine and the star symbolize the two islands, liberty and hope.

The St. Kitts and Nevis flag was officially adopted on September 19, 1983 as the country gained its independence from Britain. The flag was designed by Edrice Lewis, a local teacher.

St. Lucia Flag

The national flag of St. Lucia has a blue background. In the center of the flag is a gold isosceles triangle pointing toward the top of the flag. Above the triangle is a black arrowhead which is outlined in white. The meaning of the flag is described as blue representing fidelity and the surrounding waters. Gold symbolizes the sun, and black and white symbolize cultural influence of St. Lucia.

The flag of St. Lucia was adopted on March 1, 1967.

St. Pierre & Miquelon Flag

The flag of St. Pierre & Miquelon has the traditional colors of the French flag; blue, white and red. Actually, it is identical to the French flag as St. Pierre and Miquelon is a dependent territory of France.

St. Vincent & Grenadines Flag

The St. Vincent & Grenadines flag has three vertical stripes which, from left to right, are blue, yellow and green. The outer stripes are slightly narrower than the middle yellow stripe. Inside the yellow stripe are three green diamonds in a 'v' formation. The blue symbolizes the sky, the yellow is for the sun and the green is for the lush vegetation. The diamonds are called the Gems of Antilles.

The flag was officially adopted on October 12, 1985.

Sudan Flag

The Sudanese national flag has three horizontal stripes of equal with in red, white and black; and a green horizontal triangle on the left side, pointing toward the right. The four colors are traditional pan Arabic colors. The green is symbolic of the Islamic religion. The red is for Sudan's struggle for independence. The white symbolizes peace, optimism and light and the black represents Sudan.

The Sudanese flag was adopted on May 20, 1970. The Sudan gained its independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956 and the design of the flag is based on the flag for the Arab Liberation of Egypt.

Suriname Flag

The Suriname national flag has five horizontal stripes and a star in the center. The top and bottom stripes are green and are equal width. Moving inward are white stripes that are narrower and in the center is a large red stripe. The star in the middle of the flag is a five-point yellow star. The green represents fertility and hope. The white stripes symbolize justice and peace. The red strip is for love and progress. The star symbolizes the unity of all the ethnic groups in Suriname.

The flag of Suriname was officially adopted on November 25, 1975.

Swaziland Flag

The Swaziland flag has five horizontal stripes. A large red stripe is in the center with narrow yellow stripes above and below it. On the top and bottom of the flag are blue stripes. In the red stripe is an emblem that includes a combat shield and spears. The blue stripes represent peace; the yellow is for the mineral wealth of the country and the red stripe is for past battles. The shield in the middle represents the traditional Swazi Emasotsha Regiment.

The Swaziland flag was adopted on October 30, 1967, a little more than a year before the country gained its independence from Britain.

Sweden Flag

The Swedish national flag has a blue base with a yellow Scandinavian cross. The Scandinavian cross has the horizontal stripe in the center and the vertical stripe slightly left of the center. The flag was supposedly based off the design on the Danish flag. The blue and yellow of the flag are from the Swedish Coat of Arms.

The true age of the flag isn't known but recorded images of it date back to the 16th century

Switzerland Flag

The national flag of Switzerland is a perfect square. It has a red base with a white cross in the center. The cross is indicative of Christianity. The flag traditionally symbolizes fidelity, honor and freedom. It has also come to represent peace, refuge and neutrality.

The Swiss flag was officially adopted on December 12, 1889 and is one of the oldest flags in the world. The flag of the Red Cross is the exact opposite of the Swiss flag.

Syria Flag

The flag of Syria has three equal width horizontal stripes. The top stripe is red, the middle is white and the bottom stripe is black. Within white stripe are two, green, and five-point stars. Colors of the Syrian flag are traditional pan Arabic colors.

The Syrian flag was adopted in 1980.