About FlagDB

FlagDB is a reference guide to 205 flags: the national flags of all 193 United Nations member states, the two observer states, Vatican City and Palestine, and ten territories with flags of their own, among them Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong and New Caledonia.

What each entry contains

Every flag page gives the year the current design, or its current official form, was adopted, a short description of the design, a design class, the region, and a note on its history and symbolism. Many flags are far older than their adoption year: the year shown is usually the date of the most recent law or decree fixing the design, and the text notes earlier use where it matters. 25 of the current designs date from before 1900, 129 from 1900 to 1989 and 51 from 1990 onward.

How designs are classed

Each flag is placed in one design family, such as Nordic cross, tricolor, pan-African or pan-Arab colors, or the main emblem it carries. Many flags could fit more than one family, so the class is a browsing aid rather than a formal vexillological taxonomy. Meanings of colors are given as officially stated or as commonly interpreted; few flag laws define symbolism at all.

Sources and corrections

Adoption dates and designs were checked against national flag laws, the CIA World Factbook and the encyclopedic flag literature. Flags change more often than people expect: Kyrgyzstan revised its sun in 2023 and Syria adopted a new national flag in 2025. Corrections are made as they are found.

Collection by design

Collection by region