List of sovereign states by date of current flag adoption

This is a list of sovereign states by the date on which they adopted their current national flag.

For most of these states, the date of flag adoption is clear, but for others the exact date of flag adoption is unknown or disputed because of design changes. This list defines the year of flag adoption as the year since when the current flag has been used continuously to represent a nation, autonomous region or occupied state. Only countries which are currently sovereign states are listed, although the flag may have been adopted before the countries gained independence. The listed countries may have undergone fundamental regime changes, great geographical changes or even temporarily lost autonomy, or undergone political unions or secessions. If the flag remained in use during such events, its original adoption date is listed. Changes that do not alter the basic design of the flag, like the changes in ratio or color shade, restyling of emblems or inscriptions or the addition or removal of stars, are listed in the last column. The current flag design often evolved over the years (e.g. the flag of the United States) or can be a re-adoption of an earlier, historic flag (e.g. the flag of Libya). The year the current flag design first came into use is listed in the third column.

List

Country Adoption of current flag design First use of current flag design Last change to current flag design
 Denmark 1625[1] 1219 1893 (proportions formalized)
 Netherlands 1660[2] 1409–1410 1937 (colours formalized)
 United Kingdom 1 January 1801 1801 1801 (merged with Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
 Argentina 27 February 1812 1812 2011 (proportions standardized)
 Chile 18 October 1817 1817 1854 (the national coat of arms disappeared and the star was kept completely upright)
 Peru 1825 1822 1950
 Uruguay 1828 1828 1830 (sun of may modified, number of stripes reduced and colour changed)
 France 1830 1794 (naval ensign)[note 1] 1976 (colours standardized); current design reintroduced in 1830;[3] current design becoming the default in 2020[4]
 Tunisia 1831 1827 (naval ensign) 1999 (proportions formalized)
 Belgium 1831 1831 1831
 Paraguay 1842 1842 2013 (coat of arms modified)
 Turkey 1844 1793 1936 (proportions standardized)
 Liberia 1847 1847 1847
 Bolivia 1851 1851 2004 (coat of arms modified)
 Ecuador 1860 1810 2009 (modernized)
 Colombia 1861 1810 1949 (official pattern issued, all flags with arms modified)[5]
 San Marino 1862 1797[6] 2011 (proportions standardized)
 Honduras 1866 1823 27 January 2022[7] (change of colours)
 Japan 1870 701 1999 (exact colours specified, sun disc is perfectly centered, and proportions fixed)
 Guatemala 1871 1868 1968[8]
 Tonga 1875 1674 (as English Red Ensign) 1875
 Monaco 1881 1881 1881
 South Korea 1883 1882[note 1] (designed by King Gojong or Pak Yeong-hyo) 2011 (when the exact color shades were last changed from their previous colors [set in 1997]).
In 1948 the South Korean national assembly readopted this as the national flag with a modification of the taegeuk.
The trigrams were moved into their current place in 1949.
The exact dimensions were specified in 1984.
 Switzerland 1889 1470 1841
 Philippines 12 February 1898 1898 1998 (present definitive shades of blue and red)
 Norway 1899 1821 1899 (removal of Union mark of Norway and Sweden)
 Australia 3 September 1901 1901 1934 (dimensions officially gazetted)
 Cuba 1902 1868 (naval jack of Cuba) 1902
 New Zealand 1902 1869 1902 (dimensions defined)
 Sweden 1906 1562 (or earlier) 1906 (removal of Union mark of Norway and Sweden)
 Costa Rica 1848 1848 1998 (changes to coat of arms)
 Dominican Republic 1908[9] 1844 1908
 Portugal 1911 1910 1910
 Albania 1912 1444[10] 22 July 2002 (colours standardized)
 El Salvador 17 May 1912 1822 (as provincial flag within Federal Republic of Central America) 17 May 1912 (colours specified, and replaced with its own coat of arms)
 Morocco 1915 1915 1915 (the Seal of Solomon is replaced by a green pentagram)
 Thailand 1917 1917 30 September 2017 (colours standardized)[11]
 Austria 1918 1230 1918
 Estonia 1918 1884 2006 (colors standardized)[12]
 Finland 1918 1861 1920 (colors changed)
 Germany 1918 1848 (by the Frankfurt Parliament)[note 1] 1999 (when the exact colours were specified)[13]
 Ireland 1919 1848 1848
 Poland 1919 1831 1921 (colors formalized)
 Jordan 1928 1917 1928 (star introduced)
 Latvia 1921 1279 1923 (proportions formalized)
 Republic of China 1928 1921 (by the Guangzhou government) 1921
 Panama 1925 1903 2017 (upper left star and lower left quadrant changed to dark blue)
 Vatican City 1929 1808 2023 (Papal tiara and keys modified)
 Liechtenstein 1937 1764 1937 (addition of crown)
 Lebanon 1943 1943 1995 (tree slightly modified)
 Iceland 1944 1918 1944 (when the exact colours were changed)
 Indonesia 1945 1881 1881
 Vietnam 1945 1940 1955 (star edges made sharper)
 India 24 July 1947 1923 1947 (Gandhian spinning wheel changed to Ashoka Chakra; colours formalized)
 Pakistan 11 August 1947 14 August 1947 1947
 Italy 1943 1796 (with Napoleon I) 2006 (when exact colours were specified).
In 1946 the monarch's banner was removed, and the Italian Republic was proclaimed.
 North Korea July 1948[14] 1948[14] 1992 (standardization, star and disc sizes changed)
 Israel 1948 1891 1897
 Samoa 1949 1948 1948
 People's Republic of China 1 October 1949 27 September 1949 1 January 2021 (standardization of the colours)
 Somalia 1960 1954 1954
 Hungary 1990 1848 (1681) 1990 (removing the Kádár-coat of arms)
 Madagascar 1958 1958 1958
 Guinea 1958 1958 1958
 Central African Republic 1958 1958 1958
 Chad 1959 1959 1959
 Brunei 1959 1906 1959 (crest added)
 Benin 1959 1959 1959
 Niger 1959 1958 1958
 Ivory Coast 1959 1959 1959
 Singapore 1959 1959 1959
 United States 4 July 1960 1777[note 1] 1960 (addition of a star after Hawaii became a state)
 Togo 1960 1960 1960
 Gabon 1960 1959 1960
 Cyprus 1960 1960 24 April 2006 (modification)
 Senegal 1960 1959 1960
 Nigeria 1960 1959 1959
 Mali 1961 1959 1961 (removal of central stick figure)
 Sierra Leone 1961 1960 1960
 Kuwait 7 September 1961 1961 1961
 Algeria 1962 1934 1963 (crescent and star made bigger)
 Jamaica 1962 1962 1962
 Trinidad and Tobago 1962 1962 1962
 Uganda 1962 1962 1962
 Nepal 16 December 1962 1743 1962 (modernized; the faces disappeared from the sun and moon)
 Malaysia 1950 1950 1963 (14-point star and 14 stripes after Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the federation, remains unchanged in 1965 after Singapore was expelled and the addition of Putrajaya and Labuan in the flag)
 Kenya 1963 1963 1963
 Tanzania 1964 1964 1964 (merged with Tanganyika and Zanzibar)
 Malta 1964 1943 1964 (background of George Cross changed to white)
 Zambia 1964 1964 1996 (green field changed to a lighter shade)
 Maldives 1965 1926 1965 (removal of striped hoist after Independence)
 Canada 15 February 1965 1965 1965
 Gambia 1965 1965 1965
 Ghana 1966 1957 1966 (white stripe changed back to original yellow)
 Botswana 1966 1966 1966
 Barbados 1966 1966 1966
 Guyana 1966 1966 1966
 Burundi 1967 1962 1982 (ratio changed from 2:3 to 3:5)
 Antigua and Barbuda 27 February 1967 1967 1967
 Nauru 1968 1968 1968
 Mauritius 1968 1968 1968
 Mexico 1968 1821 (First Mexican Empire flag) 1968 (coat of arms modified)
 Eswatini 1968 1968 2011 (feathers changed to gray)
 Bhutan 1969 1947 1969 (colour of the lower half changed from red to orange)
 Sudan 1970 1970 1970
 Fiji 1970 1924 1970 (emblem on flag changed)
 Qatar 1971 1949 1971 (proportion modified)
 Andorra 1949 1866 1993 (coat of arms modified)
 Nicaragua 1908 1823 (as provincial flag within United States of Central America) 1971 (coat of arms modified)
 United Arab Emirates 1971 1971 1971
 Bangladesh 1972 1971 1972 (removal of country's map)
 Sri Lanka 1972 1948 1972 (four leaves of the Bo tree were added to the corners of the flag) [a]
 Luxembourg 1972 1845[15] 1845
 Saudi Arabia 1973 1932 1984 (sword slightly changed)
 Bahamas 1973 1973 2006 (colours changed to turquoise)[citation needed]
 Guinea-Bissau 1973 1973 1973
 Grenada 1974 1974 1974
 Cameroon 20 May 1975 1957 1975 (a yellow star added in the middle)
 Papua New Guinea 1975 1971 1971
 São Tomé and Príncipe 1975 1975 1975
 Angola 1975 1975 1975
 Suriname 1975 1975 1975
 Laos 1975 1945 (by the Lao Issara government) 1975 (communist takeover)
 Djibouti 1977 1977 1977
 Solomon Islands 1977 1977 1977
 Dominica 1990 1978 1990 (yellow side of green stars removed, but old design seldom use today)
 Greece 1978 1822 (naval ensign)[note 1] 1978 (land flag abolished)
 Saint Lucia 1979 1967 2002
 Marshall Islands 1979 1979 1979
 Kiribati 1979 1979 1979
 Equatorial Guinea 1979 1972 1979 (re-adoption of coat of arms due to the collapse of Francisco Nguema regime)
 Federated States of Micronesia 1979 1965 (as Flag of the TTPI which had 6 stars above) 1979 (two stars removed due to reorganization of the Territory)
 Vanuatu 1980 1980 1980
 Zimbabwe 18 April 1980 1980 1980
 Iran 1980 1980 1980 (national emblem added to center of flag and religious script added due to the Islamic Revolution)
 Spain 1981 1785[note 1] 1981 (coat of arms replaced)
 Palau 1981 1981 1981
 Belize 1981 1981 21 September 2019 (standardized)
 Mozambique 1983 1975[16][note 1] 1983 (change of emblem on the left side of flag)
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1983 1983 1983
 Burkina Faso 1984 1984 1984
 Egypt 1984 23 July 1952 (as Arab Liberation Flag) 1984
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1985 1985 1985
 Haiti 1859 1806[note 1] 1986 (re-adoption due to the collapse of Duvalier regime)
 Palestine 1988 1988 1988
 Lithuania 1922 1918 2004 (ratio changed)
 Romania 1989 1834 1989 (removed emblem)
 Namibia 1990 1990 1990
 Yemen 1990 1952 1990
 Moldova 1990 1990 2010 (emblem copied to reverse side)
 Armenia 1990 1918 1990 (ratio changed)
 Azerbaijan 1991 1918 2013 (colour shades standardized)
 Croatia 1990 1848[note 1] 1990 (redesign of the coat of arms)
 Russia 1991[17] 1696[note 1] 1993 (ratio and colours changed)
 Bulgaria 1991 1879 1991 (removal of the state emblem)
 Republic of the Congo 10 June 1991 1959 1959
 Slovenia 25 June 1991 1848 1991 (red star was replaced with coat of arms)
 Uzbekistan 18 November 1991 1991 18 November 1991
 Mongolia 12 January 1992 1940 2011 (colours standardized)
 Ukraine 28 January 1992 1848 1918
 Turkmenistan 19 February 1992 1992 2001 (ratio changed, carpet altered)
 Brazil 11 May 1992 1889 1992 (addition of four stars after Amapá, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins became states)
 Kazakhstan 4 June 1992[18] 1992 1992
 Slovakia 3 September 1992 1848 1992
 Cape Verde 22 September 1992 1992 1992
 Tajikistan 24 November 1992 1992 1992
 Czech Republic 1 January 1993 1920 1920
 Eritrea 24 May 1993[19] 1993 1995 (ratio changed)
 Cambodia June 1993 1948 1993 (re-adoption)
 South Africa 27 April 1994 1994 1994
 Oman 25 April 1995 1970 1995 (middle band to equal size)
 Belarus 7 June 1995 1951[note 1] 2019 (colours standardized)[20]
 North Macedonia 5 October 1995 1995 1995
 Seychelles 8 January 1996 1996 1996
 Ethiopia 31 October 1996 1996 2009 (larger central disc)
 Tuvalu 11 April 1997 1978 1997 (restoration of 1978 flag)
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 February 1998 1998 10 August 2001
 Rwanda 31 December 2001 2001 2001
 Comoros 23 December 2001 2002 2021 (colours standardized)
 Bahrain 14 February 2002 1932 2002 (white points reduced to 5)
 East Timor 20 May 2002[21] 1975 1975
 Georgia 14 January 2004 1124[note 1] (approx. and disputed) 2018 (minor change to geometry of the Bolnisi crosses)[22]
 Serbia 2004 1835 (by the Principality of Serbia without coat of arms)[23][24][note 1] 2010 (redesign of the coat of arms, exact colours defined)
 Montenegro 13 July 2004 2004 2004 (first publication)
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 20 February 2006[25] 1963[note 1] 2006 (return to 1966 design, colours changed to a lighter shade of blue)
 Venezuela 12 March 2006 1810 12 March 2006 (addition of a star)
 Lesotho 4 October 2006 4 October 2006 4 October 2006
 Iraq 22 January 2008 1963 22 January 2008 (removal of stars, slight change to script)
 Kosovo 17 February 2008 17 February 2008 17 February 2008
 Myanmar 21 October 2010 21 October 2010 21 October 2010
 Libya 17 February 2011 24 December 1951[note 1] 2011 (readoption of the 1951 flag)
 South Sudan 9 July 2011 9 July 2005[26] 25 August 2023 (colours standardized by the media) [27][28]
 Malawi 28 May 2012[29][30] 6 July 1964[note 1] 2012[29][30] (readoption of the 1964 flag)
 Mauritania 15 August 2017 15 August 2017 15 August 2017 (addition of red bands)
 Afghanistan 15 August 2021 1997 15 August 2021 (readoption of 1997 flag)
 Kyrgyzstan 26 December 2023 2023 22 December 2023[31] (redesign of sun symbol)
 Syria 8 December 2024 1930 8 December 2024 (de facto readoption of the 1930 flag)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p The flag has not been in continuous use.
  1. ^ The flag originated as the flag of the Kingdom of Kandy (1592–1815), but was discontinued during British colonial rule, and was readopted in 1948 after Independence with few alterations.

References

  1. ^ "Oldest continuously used national flag". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  2. ^ Poels, Jos (1–5 August 2011). "The Orange Pennant: The Dutch Response to a Flag Dilemma" (PDF). The Washington Flag Congress: 882–898. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  3. ^ sache, ivan (15 June 2022). "France: Index of all pages". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. § Historical flags. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Macron switches to using navy blue on France's flag - reports". BBC News. 14 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  5. ^ schneider, klaus-michael (26 August 2021). "Colombia - Historical Flags (1910-1949)". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. § 1949 Flags. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  6. ^ Breschi, Roberto (n.d.). "Sanmarino" [SAN MARINO]. www.rbvex.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  7. ^ raeside, rob (25 August 2021). "Honduras - Historical Flags". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Flags, Symbols, & Currencies Of Guatemala". WorldAtlas. n.d. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Dominican Republic Flag". That's Dominican. n.d. Archived from the original on 26 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  10. ^ Elsie 2010, "Flag, Albanian", p. 140: "The eagle was a common heraldic symbol for many Albanian dynasties in the Late Middle Ages and came to be a symbol of the Albanians in general. It is also said to have been the flag of Skanderbeg...As a symbol of modern Albania, the flag began to be seen during the years of the national awakening and was in common use during the uprisings of 1909-1912. It was this flag that Ismail Qemal bey Vlora raised in Vlora on 28 November 1912 in proclaiming Albanian independence."
  11. ^ สำนักงานพัฒนาวิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยีแห่งชาติ (National Science and Technology Development Agency) (16 October 2017). "มาตรฐานแถบสีธงชาติไทย" [Thai flag colour standard]. มาตรฐานแถบสีธงชาติไทย (in Thai). National Science and Technology Development Agency. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Estonian Flag Act". Riigi Teataja. Riigikantselei, Justiitsministeerium. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2019. This Act enters into force on 1 January 2006.
  13. ^ Federal Government of Germany (n.d.). "Primärfarben". Corporate Design Documentation (in German). Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
  14. ^ a b Tertitskiy, Fyodor (20 June 2014). "Kim Tu Bong and the Flag of Great Extremes". Daily NK. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  15. ^ sache, ivan (9 August 2017). "Luxembourg". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Sitee. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  16. ^ berry, bruce (5 February 2022). "Mozambique". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  17. ^ poposki, valentin (24 July 2021). "Russia". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  18. ^ lomantsov, victor (12 December 2020). "Kazakhstan". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. Archived from the original on 22 January 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  19. ^ berry, bruce (31 December 2021). "Eritrea". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  20. ^ harden, zachary (17 July 2021). "Belarus". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  21. ^ harden, zachary (4 December 2021). "East Timor". FOTW "Flags Of The World" Web Site. Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  22. ^ The parliament of Georgia (14 November 2018). "საქართველოს სახელმწიფო სიმბოლოების შესახებ" [Organic law of Georgia - About the state symbols of Georgia]. Სსიპ "საქართველოს საკანონმდებლო მაცნე" (in Georgian). Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  23. ^ D. Matic, Javno pravo Knjazevstva Srbije, Beograd, 1851, 33
  24. ^ Српска државна застава у обновљеној Србији Archived 15 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine ("Политика", 1-4. мај 1937)
  25. ^ Stadler, Paul (21 March 2011). "Zaire / Congo-Kinshasa". Encyclopedia of Christianity Online. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  26. ^ "Flag of South Sudan". Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Media Authority warns against use of wrong national flag". 25 August 2023.
  28. ^ https://www.facebook.com/www.motps.goss.org/posts/pfbid025pULB8KBPtbfJTJiRSpKYsRE4bzt3rxmzPr9D6x62Ecpu8HFjkBhswyUYckNkyLEl [bare URL]
  29. ^ a b Gwede, Wanga (28 May 2012). "Malawi Parliament approves to revert to original flag". Nyasa Times. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  30. ^ a b "Malawi reverts to old flag". Sunday Times. 29 May 2012. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  31. ^ "Kyrgyz President Signs Bill Amending National Flag". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 26 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.

Works cited