Forgotten Flags? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Denmark

The Scandinavian cross flags of the Nordic countries of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland are all similar with the exception of colours and borders. The cross represents Christianity and dates back to the Kalmar Union, which was the kingdom that united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, as well as parts of Finland between the years 1397 and 1523.

The top flag in the picture belongs to Norway, the middle flag is that of Iceland, and the bottom flag is Finland's. Sweden's flag is blue with a yellow cross, while Denmark's flag is red with a white cross.

Answer: Czechia

Czechia, also known as the Czech Republic, has a flag with the same red, white and blue as France, Russia and the Netherlands depicted here, but Czechia's flag is laid out somewhat differently. There is a blue triangle extending from the left edge to the center of the flag with the remaining space divided in two from the point to the right edge, white on top, red on the bottom.

The flag of Czechia has been in use since 1920 (as Czechoslovakia) and uses the traditional colours of the Czech lands, originating from an 1192 coat of arms.

The other three flags in order from top to bottom are the Netherlands, France, and Russia.

Answer: Laos

The flags of Bangladesh (green with red circle), Palau (blue with yellow circle) and Japan (white with red circle) are the only three flags of this type with only two colours represented. Two more flags have plain circles in their patterns, while there are a number of others with circles enclosing another design.

The two other flags with simple circles are Niger (three equal stripes, orange/white/green top to bottom, with an orange circle in the center) and Laos (two thinner red lines bordering the top and bottom of the flag with a blue bar between them, a white circle in the center). The Laotian flag was designed in 1945 and used (officially) for only one year until another government changed it. It was readopted in 1975 after the fall of the Kingdom of Laos.

Answer: Turkey

Turkey's flag is all red with a white crescent to the left of center where the ends of the crescent point to a white five-pointed star that is just right of center. The star and crescent symbols originated with the Ottoman Empire in the late 18th century, with the white crescent and star introduced in 1844. When Turkey declared itself a republic in 1923, it adopted the same symbols.

The other flags shown, from top to bottom, are Switzerland, Georgia, and Canada.

Other flags that are only white and red include Austria, Bahrain, Denmark, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Monaco, Poland, Singapore, Tonga, and Tunisia.

Answer: Togo

Togo's flag is quite dissimilar in design, more closely resembling the flag of Liberia or the United States, albeit with the pan-African colours of red, yellow and green (plus a white star). The flag has five horizontal bars alternating green (three bars) and yellow (two bars). A red square with the aforementioned white star is located in the upper left corner.

The other national flags presented in order from top to bottom in the picture are Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, and Benin.

Answer: Namibia

Namibia's flag has a red stripe extending from top-right to bottom-left, edged in white. The lower remaining triangle is green, while the upper triangle is blue with a yellow sun in the corner. This flag was adopted in 1990 when the country claimed independence from South Africa.

The five colours of Namibia's flag have the following representations:
Red - Namibia's people - their heroism and their determination to build a future of equal opportunity for all.
White - peace and unity.
Green - vegetation and agricultural resources.
Blue - the clear Namibian sky and the Atlantic Ocean, the country's precious water resources and rain.
Yellow sun - life and energy.

The other three flags, in order from top to bottom are: St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tanzania.

Answer: Europe

From top to bottom, the countries represented here are Liberia (Africa), the United States of America (North America), and Malaysia (Asia). The closest European national flag (the only one with multiple stripes in a similar style) belongs to Greece, but Greece's flag is only blue and white.

Liberia's flag was established in 1847 with the establishment of the country as Africa's first independent republic.

The pattern of the 'stars and stripes' on the flag of the United States of America was first established in 1777, but it has seen many revisions over the years as the stars represent the number of states in the Union. The thirteen stripes represent the original thirteen colonies, and the 50 stars were established with the admission of Alaska and Hawaii in 1959.

Malaysia's flag was originally adopted in 1950 with eleven stripes and an eleven-pointed star. Since 1963 it has been fourteen stripes, which represent the thirteen member states (plus a stripe representing federal territories), while the fourteen-pointed star represents the unity between them. And the crescent represents Islam.

Answer: Ukraine

Ukraine's flag of blue (upper half) and yellow (lower half) was first raised in 1848 during the widespread revolutions of the 'Spring of Nations,' although the colours were adopted from the 12th century Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia. Most recently, the Ukrainian flag was re-adopted with Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Although not based on the origins of the colour choices, the current explanation defining the flag's colours is 'a blue sky above a yellow field of wheat.'

The other three flags in order from top to bottom are Singapore, Poland, and Indonesia.

As another point of interest, the flag of Monaco is identical to that of Indonesia with two minor differences: a slightly darker shade of red and a different ratio (the flag isn't as long, giving it a 5:4 ratio, compared to the usual 3:2 ratio).

Answer: Gabon

Gabon's flag's three colours are green, yellow and blue from top to bottom. The flag was adopted when Gabon gained independence from France in 1960. The yellow bar symbolizes the sun *and* represents the equator, which runs through the country. Green stands for Gabon's natural resources as well as its extensive forested area. And blue represents the sea.

The other flags represented here are Germany (top), Lithuania (middle), and Armenia (bottom).

Answer: Colombia

Colombia's flag is half yellow on top, with the bottom half blue above red. Along with Ecuador's and Venezuela's flags, it was based on the flag of Gran Colombia, from which the three countries were established in 1831.

There is a popular children's song in Colombia about the Colombia flag that says "yellow is our gold, blue is our vast seas, and red is the blood that gave us our freedom." (source: worldflags101.com)

The three flags shown in the picture, from top to bottom, are Chad, Andorra, and Romania.