Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethiopia
Liberia
Congo
Zanzibar
South Africa
Middle East and North Africa
Turkey
Tunisia
Egypt
Jebel Shammar
Morocco
Muscat and Oman
Persia
state flag 11 Flown by the government, and often by private citizens.
Persia
national flag 22 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Hejaz · Syria
Nejd
ʿAsir
Kuwait 33 There were many variations of this flag, depending on who was flying it and when. Some versions would have added inscriptions, decorations or royal symbols. The flag could also be triangular.
Yemen
Bahrain 44 The number of points could vary. Some flags even had a completely straight-edged stripe.
Qatar
Ras al-Khaimah · Sharjah 55 Officially all of the Trucial States were supposed to fly a square red flag with a thick white border. In practice this flag became exclusively associated with the Al Qasimi dynasty. The other states mostly flew plain red flags.
Mount Lebanon
Assyrians
Western Europe
France
Italy
national flag 66 Flown by private citizens and merchant ships. The "Italian Social Republic", the Nazi puppet regime in the north, flew the plain tricolour as a national flag and had a war flag with an eagle gripping a fasces. The anti-fascist Italian partisans flew either plain tricolours or tricolours with a white or red star on the middle stripe.
Italy
state flag 77 Flown by the government and navy.
Ireland
Belgium
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Germany
Austria
Spain
Andorra
Switzerland
Denmark
national flag 88 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Denmark
sovereign flag 99 Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies.
Norway
merchant flag 1010 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Norway
state flag 1111 Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.
Iceland
national flag 1212 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Iceland
state flag 1313 Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships.
Sweden 1414 Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military.
Finland
national flag 1515 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Finland
state flag 1616 Flown by the government, border guard, and public universities. The armed forces fly a version with a swallowtail cut.
Greece
land flag 1717 Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross.
Greece
sea flag 1818 Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross.
United Kingdom
England
Scotland
Jersey
San Marino
Liechtenstein
princely flag 1919 Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. Blue and red flags were also in use.
Monaco
national flag 2020 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Monaco
princely flag 2121 Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings.
Malta
traditional flag 2222 Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it.
Portugal
Catalonia
senyera 2323 The traditional Catalan flag.
Catalonia
estelada 2424 The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence.
Basque Country
Cornwall
Galicia
Corsica
Wales
Flanders
Wallonia
Eastern Europe and Western Turkestan
Russia (Soviet) 2525 Flown by the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic during the Russian Civil War.
Latvia (Soviet) 2626 Flown by the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic, the government of the Bolshevik-occupied areas of Latvia during the Russian Civil War.
Estonia (Soviet) 2727 Flown by the Commune of the Working People of Estonia, the government of the Bolshevik-occupied areas of Estonia during the Russian Civil War.
Lithuania (Soviet) 2828 Flown by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, the government of the Bolshevik-occupied areas of Lithuania during the Russian Civil War.
Yugoslavia
merchant flag 3030 Unofficial flag of the merchant fleet.
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Byelorussia
Hungary
Bulgaria
Don Republic
Estonia
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Lithuania
Albania
Latvia
Georgia
Romania
Ukraine
Karelia 3131 Flown by the breakaway Republic of East Karelia, which aimed for independence from Russia and integration with Finland.
Kuban Republic
Bashkiria
Mountain Republic
Bukhara
Khiva
Karakorum-Altai 3232 One of the possible reported flags of the Karakorum-Altai government, also known as the Confederated Republic of Altai.
South Asia and the Indian Ocean
India 3333 The "Calcutta flag" flown by independence activists. British India had several colonial flags. A red civil ensign with the Star of India medal on it was used to represent India at international sporting events.
Afghanistan
Hyderabad
Jammu and Kashmir 3434 The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom.
Nepal
Jhabua 3535 The raja's flag was rectangular
Dewas
Kota
princely flag 3636 Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer.
Benares
Sailana 3737 The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag.
Ajaigarh 3838 The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower.
Mewar 3939 Mewar had a number of reported princely banners which were also sometimes used as state flags. The most common one had a large yellow sun and a blue katar dagger.
Kolhapur 4040 Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag.
Dhar
Jaipur
Alwar
Idar
Sirohi
Jodhpur
Gwalior
Jaisalmer
Nabha
Bikaner
Mysore
Wankaner
Manipur
Charkhari
Banswara
Dholpur
Chhatarpur
Kapurthala
Cambay
Bharatpur
Kochin
Dhrangadhra
Rajpipla
princely flag 4141 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag.
Rajpipla
national flag 4242 Allowed to be flown by civilians.
Indore 4343 Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours.
Bhavnagar 4444 There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it.
Tonk 4545 The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand.
Garhwal 4646 The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes.
Suket 4747 The raja's flag had a gold tiger head in the middle. The war flag was a red flag with the state coat of arms on it.
Kalat
Bahawalpur
Baroda
princely flag 4848 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown.
Kutch
Travancore
Rajgarh
Pratapgarh 4949 The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white.
Cooch Behar
Barwani
Porbandar
Sitamau 5050 The Raja's flag had a red sun
Faridkot
Rewa
princely flag 5151 Flag of the maharaja's dynasty, used as a state flag.
Bundi
Jhalawar
Karauli
Orchha
Alirajpur
Khairpur
Dungarpur
Baoni
Mandi 5252 The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it.
Kishangarh
Bhopal 5353 The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it.
Jaora
Rampur
Bilaspur
Sikkim
Sinhalese Flag 5454 Flown by Sinhalese nationalists in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. There was also an infrequently-used blue British colonial ensign with an elephant badge.
Maldive Islands
Muslim League 5555 Flag of the All-India Muslim League, which advocated for Muslim interests within British India. The direct predecessor of the flag of Pakistan.
East, Central and Southeast Asia
Japan
Korea 5656 Flown by the Korean independence movement. Banned under Japanese occupation.
China
Mongolia
Uriankhai
Cambodia
Laos
Siam
Philippines 5757 Banned by the American colonial government. The Insular Government of the Philippine Islands had no official flag at this time.
Federated Malay States
Brunei
Terengganu
Sarawak
Perlis
Johor
state flag 5858 Flown by the sultan and on naval ships.
Johor
merchant flag 5959 Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag.
Kedah
state flag 6060 Flown over the sultan's palace and the military.
Kedah
merchant flag 6161 Flown by merchant ships.
Kelantan
Burma 6262 Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag.
Oceania
Australia
New Zealand
Hawaiʻi
Tonga
Wallis and Futuna
Guam
North America
United States
Canada 6363 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. The badge was only supposed to have the arms of the original four provinces, but the nine-province version was much more common. It was also often placed on a white disc, or adorned with wreath of maple leaves and a crown.
Newfoundland 6464 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag.
Texas
Acadia
Québec
California
Métis
Latin America
Brazil
Mexico
Peru
national ensign 6565 Flown by the government, the navy, the national police, and national sports teams. Raised at major ceremonies. The army uses a similar flag with a different coat of arms.
Peru
national flag 6666 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Guatemala
Argentina
Nicaragua
El Salvador
national flag 6767 The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens.
El Salvador
inscribed flag 6868 An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices.
El Salvador
plain flag 6969 The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens.
Honduras
Paraguay
front side
Paraguay
back side
Costa Rica
national flag 7070 The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too.
Costa Rica
national ensign 7171 Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens.
Puerto Rico 7272 Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule.
Cuba
Uruguay
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Chile
Panama
Venezuela
national ensign 7373 Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.
Venezuela
national flag 7474 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Colombia
Ecuador
Bolivia
state flag 7575 Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms.
Bolivia
national flag 7676 Allowed to be flown by anyone.
Other International and Cultural Flags
Buddhist Flag
Zionist Movement
Esperanto
Red Cross
Red Crescent
Olympic Games
Events of 1918
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY • The Austro-Hungarian Empire rapidly dissolved as World War I came to an end. Czechoslovakia decared its independence on October 28 under the Bohemian flag.
The South Slavic regions of the empire (mostly Croatia-Slavonia, Carniola and Bosnia-Herzegovina, with small parts of other crown lands) declared independence on October 29 as the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. The state would only last for a month before being absorbed into Yugoslavia. They flew a plain Croatian tricolour.
The republic of German-Austria was declared on November 12, a day after Karl I's abdication. The new Austrian flag was a banner of the country's 13th century coat of arms, which had been used as a naval flag since 1786.
On November 16, the Hungarian People's Republic was declared.
CATALONIA • The estelada flag was adopted by the Catalan independence movement, probably inspired by the flag of Cuba.
FINLAND • The blue and white nordic cross flag was adopted on May 29.
MOLDAVIA • The Moldavian Democratic Republic united with Romania on December 10.
POLAND • Poland regained its independence from Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Germany on November 11.
RUSSIA • On April 14, the Soviet government adopted a new flag, red with the name of the state in yellow. On June 17 the flag was revised to just include the state initials. The opposition White Army continued flying the old tricolour. On September 23 they established a nominal "All-Russian Government" in Ufa.
The Ukrainian People's Republic declared independence from Russia on January 22. The new state formalized the order of the colours as blue over yellow.
The Byelorussian People's Republic declared a largely ineffective independence, propped up by the occupying Germany Army, on March 25.
In the Baltic region, Lithuania declared independence on February 16. A yellow stripe was added on April 19 to brighten up its "gloomy" green-red flag. Estonia declared independence on February 24, and Latvia declared independence on November 18.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, in which Russia had surrendered all its claims to its former territories in Eastern Europe, was rendered null and void after Germany's surrender on November 11. The Red Army moved back in and established satellite Soviet governments in Estonia (November 29), Lithuania (December 16), and Latvia (December 17). Minsk was occupied on December 10 and the Byelorussian government fled into exile.
Elsewhere in Russia, the Transcaucasian Federation declared independence on April 22. The union was dissolved on May 26 when Georgia broke away, an action confirmed by Armenia and Azerbaijan (which did not yet have a flag) two days later.
Azerbaijan adopted a Turkish-derived flag on June 22. When the Azerbaijani National Council was re-established after the Ottoman Defeat in World War I, it adopted its modern tricolour flag.
The Mountain Republic of the Northern Caucasus adopted a new flag on May 11
The Uriankhai protectorate in what would later become known as Tuva adopted a flag.
Several smaller national movements adopted flags in this year as part of their attempts to win autonomy or independence from Russia: Karelia (June 21), the Don Republic (April 21), the Kuban Republic (December 5), Karakorum-Altai (March 12), and Bashkiria (August 20)
The self-proclaimed autonomous governments in Turkestan (February 19) and Crimea (January 27) were supressed by the Bolsheviks.
The Idel-Ural state in Tatarstan attempted to declare independence on March 1, but the movement was crushed by the Red Army on March 28 before it could ever establish itself.
The Provisional Government of Siberia (November 3) and Alash Orda (November 4) submitted to the White government and were dissolved.
SYRIA • On September 30, Emir Faisal, the leader of the Arab revolt, declared the creation of a constitutional Arab State in Syria, which he intended to also encompass Lebanon and Palestine. The state flew the Arab Revolt flag.
YEMEN • Yemen declared independence from the Ottoman Empire on October 30.
YUGOSLAVIA • Montenegro was annexed to Serbia on November 28.
On December 1, Serbia merged with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to form Yugoslavia.
Notes
1 Flown by the government, and often by private citizens. ↩
2 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
3 There were many variations of this flag, depending on who was flying it and when. Some versions would have added inscriptions, decorations or royal symbols. The flag could also be triangular. ↩
4 The number of points could vary. Some flags even had a completely straight-edged stripe. ↩
5 Officially all of the Trucial States were supposed to fly a square red flag with a thick white border. In practice this flag became exclusively associated with the Al Qasimi dynasty. The other states mostly flew plain red flags. ↩
6 Flown by private citizens and merchant ships. The "Italian Social Republic", the Nazi puppet regime in the north, flew the plain tricolour as a national flag and had a war flag with an eagle gripping a fasces. The anti-fascist Italian partisans flew either plain tricolours or tricolours with a white or red star on the middle stripe. ↩
7 Flown by the government and navy. ↩
8 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
9 Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩
10 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
11 Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩
12 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
13 Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships. ↩
14 Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military. ↩
15 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
16 Flown by the government, border guard, and public universities. The armed forces fly a version with a swallowtail cut. ↩
17 Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩
18 Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩
19 Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. Blue and red flags were also in use. ↩
20 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
21 Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings. ↩
22 Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it. ↩
23 The traditional Catalan flag. ↩
24 The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence. ↩
25 Flown by the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic during the Russian Civil War. ↩
26 Flown by the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic, the government of the Bolshevik-occupied areas of Latvia during the Russian Civil War. ↩
27 Flown by the Commune of the Working People of Estonia, the government of the Bolshevik-occupied areas of Estonia during the Russian Civil War. ↩
28 Flown by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, the government of the Bolshevik-occupied areas of Lithuania during the Russian Civil War. ↩
29 Flown in territories under control of the anti-Soviet White Army. ↩
30 Unofficial flag of the merchant fleet. ↩
31 Flown by the breakaway Republic of East Karelia, which aimed for independence from Russia and integration with Finland. ↩
32 One of the possible reported flags of the Karakorum-Altai government, also known as the Confederated Republic of Altai. ↩
33 The "Calcutta flag" flown by independence activists. British India had several colonial flags. A red civil ensign with the Star of India medal on it was used to represent India at international sporting events. ↩
34 The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom. ↩
35 The raja's flag was rectangular ↩
36 Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer. ↩
37 The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag. ↩
38 The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower. ↩
39 Mewar had a number of reported princely banners which were also sometimes used as state flags. The most common one had a large yellow sun and a blue katar dagger. ↩
40 Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag. ↩
41 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. ↩
42 Allowed to be flown by civilians. ↩
43 Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours. ↩
44 There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it. ↩
45 The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand. ↩
46 The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes. ↩
47 The raja's flag had a gold tiger head in the middle. The war flag was a red flag with the state coat of arms on it. ↩
48 Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown. ↩
49 The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white. ↩
50 The Raja's flag had a red sun ↩
51 Flag of the maharaja's dynasty, used as a state flag. ↩
52 The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it. ↩
53 The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it. ↩
54 Flown by Sinhalese nationalists in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. There was also an infrequently-used blue British colonial ensign with an elephant badge. ↩
55 Flag of the All-India Muslim League, which advocated for Muslim interests within British India. The direct predecessor of the flag of Pakistan. ↩
56 Flown by the Korean independence movement. Banned under Japanese occupation. ↩
57 Banned by the American colonial government. The Insular Government of the Philippine Islands had no official flag at this time. ↩
58 Flown by the sultan and on naval ships. ↩
59 Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag. ↩
60 Flown over the sultan's palace and the military. ↩
61 Flown by merchant ships. ↩
62 Flown by Burmese nationalists. The British colonial government did not have a distinct flag. ↩
63 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. The badge was only supposed to have the arms of the original four provinces, but the nine-province version was much more common. It was also often placed on a white disc, or adorned with wreath of maple leaves and a crown. ↩
64 Officially only to be flown civilian ships, but in practice flown widely on land as the national flag. ↩
65 Flown by the government, the navy, the national police, and national sports teams. Raised at major ceremonies. The army uses a similar flag with a different coat of arms. ↩
66 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
67 The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens. ↩
68 An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices. ↩
69 The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens. ↩
70 The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩
71 Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩
72 Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists. Display of the flag was initially banned under American rule. ↩
73 Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩
74 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩
75 Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩
76 Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩