Fun with Flags Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bhutan

The national flag of Bhutan features the thunder dragon, Druk, which is a feature of Bhutanese mythology. The flag is divided diagonally into two halves - the upper yellow triangle and the lower orange triangle. Centered along the diagonal is the black and white dragon. The original flag from 1949 contained a green dragon.

Another national flag containing a dragon is that of Wales. The Welsh flag contains a white upper half and a green lower half with a red dragon in the center.

Answer: Afghanistan

The flag of Afghanistan consists of three vertical stripes of black, red and green with the national emblem on the central red stripe. The emblem contains a mosque. The black colour represents the sad and dark history of the country. Red stands for the bloodshed of the martyrs. Green symbolizes hope for a better and bright future for the country.

The emblem symbolizes that Afghanistan is an Islamic state.

Answer: Nepal

The Nepalese flag is the only national flag that is taller than it is wide, that is, it has an aspect ratio greater than one. It is also unique in being the only non-quadrilateral national flag.

The flag of Nepal has five edges. It has two crimson red pennons with a blue border. The pennons contain the sun and the crescent moon. The blue colour symbolizes peace and harmony while the red colour stands for the bravery of the Nepalese people. The sun and the moon represent permanence.

Switzerland and Vatican City are the only two countries to have square flags (aspect ratio equal to 'one'). The Swiss flag has a red background with a white cross in the center. The Vatican flag has two equal vertical stripes - gold on the hoist side and white on the other. The Vatican Coat of Arms (crossed keys of St. Peter) features in the center of the white stripe.

The flag of Qatar is the only national flag whose width is more than twice its height (aspect ratio less than 'half').

Answer: Mozambique

The flag of Mozambique is a horizontal tricolour with upper green, middle white-edged black and lower yellow stripes. The hoist-side of the flag contains a red isosceles triangle with an AK-47 rifle and an open book superimposed on a yellow five pointed star.

Green stands for the riches of the land, white stands for peace, black symbolizes the African continent and yellow represents the country's minerals. Red signifies the struggle for independence. The AK-47 stands for defence and vigilance while the open book represents the importance of education. The yellow star stands for internationalism.

The flags of Saudi Arabia and Oman contain swords. Kenya and Swaziland have spears on their flags. A machete makes a presence on the flag of Angola while the flag of Barbados has a trident-head. Thus a number of national flags contain weapons as part of the design.

Answer: Japan

The 'sun' is a common feature on many national flags. Numerous countries have various versions of the sun on their flags. Flags of Antigua and Barbuda, Kiribati, Malawi and Bangladesh contain the rising sun on their flags.

Japan, though known as the 'land of the rising sun', does not feature the rising sun on its national flag but contains a red disc on a white background which represents the sun and is attributed to Japanese mythology.

However, Japan did have a 'Rising Sun' flag. This was used by the Imperial Japanese Army and the Navy during the Second World War. In addition to the red disc, this flag has sixteen red rays emanating from it, denoting the rising sun. The use of this flag is considered extremely offensive in China, South Korea and other countries that had come to be under Japanese Imperialism, where it is associated with Japanese war crimes. Though this flag has not been banned, its use in an international arena is frowned upon. The Rising Sun Flag is currently flown by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force.

Other countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Macedonia, Nepal, Philippines, Namibia, Rwanda, Greenland and Kazakhstan have the sun featured on their flags in some form.

Answer: Uganda

The eagle can be found on the flag of many countries. This is most probably because it has always been associated as a symbol of power in most civilizations. The eagle can be found on the flags of Egypt, Kazakhstan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Albania and Mexico.

The Egyptian flag portrays the 'Eagle of Saladin' - a golden eagle looking towards the viewer's left, a national symbol. This is present on the Coat of Arms of Egypt.

The flag of Kazakhstan has a soaring golden steppe eagle which represents freedom, independence and power.

The Zambian flag also has a golden eagle which represents the ability of people to rise above problems.

The flag of Zimbabwe has a golden bird called the 'Zimbabwe Bird' which is a representation of the eagle and signifies the relationship between humans and nature. The flag of Albania has a black double-headed eagle on a red background.

The Mexican flag is a vertical tricolour with green, white and red stripes with the Coat of Arms on the central white stripe. The Coat of Arms contains an eagle holding a snake in its talons, perched on top of a cactus situated on a rock rising from a lake. This is a reference to an Aztec legend about the founding of Mexico City.

The Ugandan flag portrays a Grey Crowned Crane with one of its legs raised symbolizing progress.

Answer: Cambodia

The flag of Cambodia is a tricolour with blue, red and blue horizontal bands with the middle red band being double in width than the blue bands. The Angkor Wat is portrayed in white colour on the middle red band. Blue represents bravery, red represents liberty and cooperation, and the Angkor Wat represents integrity, justice and heritage.

The Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world built in the 12th century AD in the then capital of the Khmer Republic. It was originally built as a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu but later transformed into a Buddhist temple. It is spread over an area of 162.6 hectares.

Answer: Argentina

The Argentine flag is a triband with light blue upper and lower bands with a white middle band. A unique emblem called the 'Sun of May' is present in the center of the white band.

The 'Sun of May' is a national emblem of Argentina and Uruguay. The Argentine flag consists of a golden yellow 'Sun of May' featuring a human face with thirty two rays. This was derived from the first ever minted Argentine coin. It can also be attributed to the Incan sun god, Inti.

The Uruguayan flag also has the 'Sun of May'. The Uruguayan flag consists of nine alternating white and blue horizontal stripes with the 'Sun of May' placed in a top white square on the hoist-side. Here, the symbol is a yellow sun featuring a human face with sixteen rays emanating from it.

Another flag that consisted the 'Sun of May' was the Peruvian flag from 1822 to 1825. Two flags (one horizontal, and another vertical tricolour variant) during this period contained three stripes of red (two - top and bottom, or left and right) and white (middle stripe). The white stripe had a red 'Sun of May' on it.

Answer: Kosovo

Only two countries in the world have their maps on their flags - Cyprus and Kosovo.

The flag of Cyprus consists of twin olive branches below a copper-orange coloured map of the country on a white background. The olive branches represent peace between the Turkish and Greek communities in Cyprus while the copper-orange colour represents the rich deposits of copper ore in the country.

The flag of Kosovo consists of a gold coloured map of Kosovo below an arc of six white five-pointed stars on a blue background. The six stars represent the six main ethnic groups of Kosovo. This design was chosen from a contest conducted by the United Nations.

Answer: Sri Lanka

The flag of Sri Lanka is also called the Lion Flag due the presence of the lion. The flag consists of a yellow lion on a maroon background with green and saffron stripes adjacent to the maroon area. All these are surrounded and seperated by a yellow border. The maroon area contains four yellow leaves in the four corners. The lion is shown holding a sword in its right fore paw.

The lion represents the bravery of the Sri Lankans. The maroon stands for the majority Sinhalese community while the green and saffron stand for the minority Muslim and Tamil communities respectively. The yellow border symbolizes the unity of all these communities in Sri Lanka. The four yellow leaves represent the four main concept of Buddhism, the main religion of the country.