Counting Stars, Vexillologically Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The flag of Grenada has featured a nutmeg and seven yellow stars. The six smaller stars, representing the nation's six parishes, are displayed on the top center and bottom center of the flag. Which location does the larger star, featured on a red disc at the center of the flag, represent?

Answer: Grenada's capital, St. George's

Nicknamed the "Island of Spice", Grenada is a tiny Caribbean island nation that is situated at the southern end of the Grenadines.

The nation is divided into six administrative divisions called parishes. The six parishes are Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, and Saint Patrick. The capital of Grenada, St. George's is located in the parish of Saint George.

The flag of Grenada was designed by Grenadian artist Anthony C. George in 1973. He also designed the nation's coat of arm. Grenada gained its independence from the UK on 7 February 1974.

The three colors that appear on the flag of Grenada - red, green, and yellow - are associated with the Pan-Africanism movement. Grenada is one of the world's top nutmeg producers.

2. The flag of Tajikistan has featured red, white, and green stripes. The center white stripe with a larger width has an image of a crown, positioned under an arc of seven stars. The crown represents the people of the landlocked nation. What does the number seven signify in Tajik culture?

Answer: Perfection and happiness

Tajikistan is a landlocked nation located in Central Asia. It borders Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

Associated with perfection, the number seven plays a significant role in Tajik belief. A popular Tajik legend has it that the heavens house seven gardens and seven mountains, with a bright, shining star resting atop each mountain.

When Tajikistan gained its independence from Russia in 1992, the nation adopted this flag, which replaced the former flag of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, which was first introduced in 1953.

The national flag of Tajikistan was formally adopted on 24 November 1992. Tajikistanis celebrate the State Flag Day on 24 November.

3. The flag of Venezuela that was first adopted in 1811 has undergone various changes over the years. A significant modification took place in 2006 where an eighth star was added. This star represents which former Venezuelan province, whose name sounds like one of Venezuela's neighboring countries?

Answer: Guayana

Venezuela is a South American nation. Its neighboring countries include Brazil, Colombia, and Guyana.

The flag of Venezuela features a tricolor of yellow, blue, and red. Prior to 2006, the flag only featured seven stars; with each star representing the seven provinces of Venezuela - Barcelona, Barinas, Caracas, Cuman�, Margarita, M�rida, and Trujillo.

In 2006, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Ch�vez, announced that an eighth star would be added to the national flag. This additional star represents the province of Guayana, which was one of the Venezuelan provinces in 1811, when Venezuela gained its independence from Spain.

Antwerp is the name of a province in Belgium. Sichuan is a Chinese province. Limpopo is a province in South Africa.

4. The flag of Tuvalu has featured nine yellow stars on a sky-blue field. The nine five-pointed stars represent the nine main islands of the volcanic archipelago nation. How are these nine stars positioned on the flag?

Answer: Based on the islands' actual geographical locations

The tiny island nation of Tuvalu is located in the subregion of Polynesia, which is part of Oceania. The country's nearest neighbors include Fiji, Kiribati, and Samoa.

Geographically speaking, Tuvalu is made up of three reef islands (Nanumanga, Niulakita, and Niutao) and six atolls (Funafuti, Nanumea, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, and Vaitupu).

The nine yellow stars that are featured on the flag of Tuvalu are positioned according to their actual geographical locations in the Pacific Ocean. However, due to aesthetic reason, and the fact that the canton (top left corner) of the flag is occupied by the Union Jack, the locations of the nine islands need to be interpreted accordingly. For example, the northernmost island, Nanumea, is represented by the bottom-most star.

Etymologically speaking, the name "Tuvalu" means "eight together" in the Tuvaluan language. An earlier version of the flag of Tuvalu has featured only eight stars. The ninth star was added in 1997.

5. The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina has featured seven full stars and two half stars, aligned diagonally at the longest side of a yellow triangle on a blue field. Which continent do these nine stars represent?

Answer: Europe

Located in Southeast Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina borders Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

The two half stars featured at the top and bottom of the flag gives an impression of an infinite number of stars. The three points of the triangle that is featured on the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina represent the nation's three main ethic groups - Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs.

The European flag, adopted by the European Union (EU), also features a blue field.

6. The flag of Cape Verde has featured ten yellow stars that are arranged in a circular pattern. These ten five-pointed stars represent ten significant geographical landforms of Cape Verde. What are they?

Answer: Ten islands of the nation

Located to the west of Senegal, Cape Verde is an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean. Together with Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Savage Isles, they form the region of Macaronesia.

The ten main islands of Cape Verde are Boa Vista, Brava, Fogo, Maio, Sal, Santa Luzia, Santiago, Santo Ant�o, S�o Vicente, and S�o Nicolau.

In addition to these ten stars, the flag of Cape Verde features horizontal bands of blue, red, and white. The blue represents the sky and the ocean; the red symbolizes the effort of the people; whereas the white symbolizes peace.

7. The flag of Dominica has featured a purple sisserou parrot that is surrounded by ten green stars. These ten stars represent the country's ten administrative divisions. The same system of administrative divisions is also adopted by Andorra, Barbados, and Jamaica. What are these administrative divisions called?

Answer: Parishes

Dominica is a Caribbean island nation. Its nearest neighbors include Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The island nation is divided into ten parishes - Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, and Saint Peter.

The flag of Dominica is also one of the very few national flags in the world that uses the color purple. The sisserou parrot, also known as the imperial amazon, is endemic to Dominica. The flag of Nicaragua also uses the color purple, which is featured in the rainbow in the country's coat of arm, that is positioned at the center of the middle white band.

8. The flag of Uzbekistan has featured a crescent and twelve stars. A symbol of perfection, the number twelve also signifies the twelve zodiac signs and the twelve months of the year. These twelve stars are also positioned in a special formation that resembles which of the following inscriptions?

Answer: Allah in Arabic

Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country located in Central Asia. The nation is completely surrounded by five other landlocked nations - Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

The flag of Uzbekistan features three main horizonal bands of azure, white, and green colors, separated by two thin stripes of red color.

The crescent on the flag symbolizes Islam, which is the predominant religion of the nation.

The number twelve is of significant importance in Islam. There are twelve imams in Shia Islam's Twelver branch. In addition, a boy is considered to reach puberty (baligh) at the age of twelve years old.

9. The flag of Brazil, nicknamed "The Green and Yellow", has featured 27 stars, each representing a federative unit of the nation. Which constellation, noted for its four major stars, is featured on the blue disc at the center of the Brazilian flag?

Answer: Crux

Brazil is the largest South American nation. It borders all the other South American countries, except Chile and Ecuador.

The flag of Brazil features a green field with a yellow rhombus. The rhombus contains a blue disc with a curved band and 27 white stars.

The star Spica, representing the state of Par�, is the only one that is positioned above the curved band.

The 27 stars on the flag of Brazil depict nine different constellations - Canis Major, Canis Minor, Carina, Crux, Hydra, Octans, Scorpius, Triangulum Australe, and Virgo.

The constellation of Crux, more popularly known as the Southern Cross, is one of the 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

10. The flag of the United States of America, nicknamed Old Glory and the Star-Spangled Banner, has featured 50 white stars that represent the 50 administrative divisions of the nation. What are these administrative divisions called?

Answer: States

The United States of America (US) is located in North America. The country borders Canada and Mexico.

The US consists of 50 states, represented by the 50 stars on the flag. The 13 stripes of alternate red and white colors represent the original 13 colonies when the US gained its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776.

Hawaii was the 50th state to be admitted into the union, in 1959. The US flag with 50 stars was first flown at Fort McHenry on 4 July 1960.

Source: Author Matthew_07

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The star is one of the most popular celestial bodies that is featured on flags. This quiz takes a look at ten national flags that feature the most number of five-pointed stars. Are you ready to count all these stars, vexillologically? Enjoy!

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