The Coolest Flags Around the World, 2023
It’s the one day of the year where flag freaks like me can let our freak flags fly — Flag Day, June 14. I’m back once again with ten flags that are helping set a new standard for these former military standards.
Who am I? Just a guy who really likes the look of these things, and has been looking into their histories since 2019 just for some fun, although I will say that I now have a pending membership at the North American Vexillogical Association. (Humblebrag.) Does that qualify me to tell you what the coolest-looking flags around the world are? Take a look at these beauties, and you be the judge.
Flag of Malta
Malta flies the rarer 2:3 ratio, and is likewise in the coveted category of pulling off an emblem. Which was a worthwhile gambit, as it is not alone in choosing white and red for its bicolor (we’re looking at you, Poland, Indonesia, Monaco, and more than a dozen others). In this case, Malta adopted these colors for its national flag because the flag of the Knights of Malta — aka the Knights Hospitaller, or the crusaders — shared them as well. (Which is also the longest still-in-use national flag!) The aforementioned emblem in the top-left is actually the George Cross, the British government’s highest award “for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstance of extreme danger,” and Malta is the only country as a whole to have been bestowed it, by George VI in 1942 for the peoples’ steadfast gallantry in WWII. Nothing to be cross about with that! (Also, if you ever visit this tiny group of islands in the Mediterranean, do not miss the Lascaris War Rooms.)
Flag of Guernsey
Speaking of Georges, let’s take a look at this bad boy. Guernsey uses the same red Saint George’s Cross from the English flag but adds the spicy Norman cross on top of it. This is to honor both Guernsey’s unique political deal — where it is nominally part of the United Kingdom, but governs itself — and William the Bastard, I mean William I of England, who was the Duke of Normandy and its conqueror. Like the flag of Newfoundland & Labrador, which I’ve previously fawned over, to me it looks like the flag for a starship fleet in a really well made science fiction flick. It’s giving Guernslay.
Flag of Czechia
I implore you to spend some time on the Wikipedia page about this flag because while the end result is simple and elegant, there were many other iterations the Czechs went through to get here — many of which involve sweet lions and eagles — starting from when the country was part of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The red and white is a legacy of that flag, which is actually what Poland’s flag remains today, and the blue triangle was introduced in 1920 to differentiate it from theirs. Like the Maltese flag, it is also distinctive in that it has 2:3 proportions, while most flags are 1:2. Despite going through many polities, from Czechoslovakia to the Czech Republic and now Czechia, the flag has remained the same for over 103 years, because why mess with success?
Flag of Nigeria
You can’t really go wrong with a classic triband flag, but you can definitely make it more interesting by using colors other than red, white, and blue, and Nigeria’s is an exemplary execution. Does it also happen to be probably my personal favorite shade of green? Sure. But, the hue is actually inspired by the flag of the Sokoto Caliphate, which was the last governing entity over (parts of) Nigeria prior to the Brits and the Germans dividing up the area in 1903. This iteration was designed by Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi, after winning a design contest for the flag that would represent an independent Nigeria in 1959, and was adopted a year later when they achieved it. Akinkunmi was inspired when flying over Nigeria, taking in all of its natural wealth — the green — and the white stands for peace. His original design had a big red sun in the center as well, which was a banger, but the judges removed it and opted for the simplicity of the message on the green and white.
Flag of Liechtenstein
The world’s sixth-smallest nation punches well above its weight with this stunner. It’s tough, not to mention bold, to try to pull off an emblem on a flag, but this gold crown (representing the principality’s head of state) is tastefully designed, and helps the flag stand out among a sea of bicolor baddies. While the crown does symbolize the prince, it was actually added in 1937 — a year after the Summer Olympics where the Liechtenstein government discovered Haiti’s flag was also blue on red. In this case, the blue is representative of the sky and the red depicts “evening fires” Liechtensteiners (try saying that ten times fast) light up in their picturesque homes.
Flag of San Marino
Microstates are so hot for this Flag Day. Next we’ve got San Marino, the fifth-smallest state in the world, and the one with some surprisingly talented Eurovision entrants. While we love that the white represents peace and the light blue represents liberty, the star of the show is the coat of arms. What you’re looking at is three green mountains with three towers standing watch over them, and each of these have a silver ostrich feather, representing San Marino’s three iconic citadels. Then of course the crown is for the state’s sovereignty in relation to Italy, which surrounds it, and the oak and laurel branch stands for the stability of its republic. Also, it’s super fun that each of the municipalities in this country of just 33,000+ people are called “Castles,” and they each have their own interesting coat of arms depicted atop the white and light blue.
Flag of Bulgaria
Back in 866, a guy called Pope Nicholas I wisely told then-prince and ultimately Boris the I of Bulgaria to drop the whole horse tail banner thing and instead use a Holy Cross. Since then, like Czechia, there have been many, many, many variations in the Bulgarian flag, and they are definitely worth checking out — my favorite is their naval jack which uses the green, red, and white but remixed like the crosses in the Union Jack. It’s just a pleasing selection of hues for the (common) red and (uncommon) green, and it has a hat-tip to Bulgaria’s long military history: red banners were flown by Simeon the Great’s army, which freed Bulgaria from the Byzantine yoke and made it the dominant state in Eastern and Southeast Europe in the early 900s. I’d also say that it’s about time the name Simeon made a comeback.
Flag of East Timor
Another relatively small state that has a big beautiful flag is East Timor. Only flown since first achieving independence in 1975, it has a long story to tell. The black stands for four hundred years of colonial powers controlling it, the yellow for its fight for independence, the red for the blood spilled to achieve that freedom, and the white star as hope for a “better future.” Its name is also a colonial hangover, as “Timor” or “Timur” in Malay means “East.” But if this excellent design for a flag is any indication, the future will be bright for East Timor.
Flag of Portugal
East Timor was named by and achieved independence from Portugal, which is next on the list. We’ve established that I’m a sucker for forest and hunter greens, so obviously I love that aspect of the flag, but it is also interesting that the First Portuguese Republic in 1911 managed to pull off not just the 2:3 ratio but an off-center crest as well. The contemporary flag marked a massive change from the flags of Portugal’s past, which prior to the republican takeover had been representative only of the monarchy; historically the ensign was white and blue, the royal arms. Ironically like East Timor, the red also symbolizes the blood of those patriots who rose up to defend the nation and the green is its hope. The republicans did not wholly break from tradition though, as the “Portuguese shield” in the center-left has been depicted in every flag sans the reign of Afonso I in the 1100s, and whose five smaller blue shields represent the “five wounds of Christ when crucified.” There were more Afonsos after him, but based on his lack of understanding of what makes for a slick flag, we can safely say he certainly wasn’t the good one.
Flag of Peru
We’ll bring it all home with the Peruvian flag. As you’ve surely clocked, tribands and those featuring uncommon shades of colors are very “in” this year, at least as far as I’m concerned. Aside from the pure aesthetic value of it on its own, the symbolism of the colors has a fun fact. This is the third flag on this list where the red represents the blood spent by those fighting for independence. The white officially represents purity and peace. But the colors are also said to be a wink to the parihuana, or Andean flamingo, which is the endemic bird that motivated General San Martín to keep fighting while he was waging a territorial war on Chile in the Battle of Arica. He might have lost that one, but Peru has won the long game with its stylish flag.
Till next year, keep an eye on the horizon and on the stern of every ship.
(En)signing off.
