Browse by charge

Flags with Symbols

Almost every flag has a symbol that reflects the culture, history, or motive of the nation. There are some flags that have common symbols. You can find all flags in their respective page category where they have common symbols.

Stars

107 flags

Coat of arms

75 flags

Animals and birds

52 flags

Plants and trees

37 flags

Crosses

33 flags

Sun

24 flags

Crescent moon

19 flags

Weapons

17 flags

Crowns

10 flags

Ships and boats

8 flags

Written script

6 flags

Buildings and monuments

5 flags

Tools and implements

5 flags

Map of the country

4 flags

Moon

4 flags

Books

3 flags

Shields

3 flags

Anchors

2 flags

Globes and spheres

2 flags

Letters

2 flags

Mountains

2 flags

Traditional ornament

2 flags

Rainbows

2 flags

Reading the symbols on a flag

Symbols are grouped here by what physically appears on the cloth — a star, a crescent, an animal, a plant, a weapon, a building, a coat of arms — rather than by what it is said to mean. That keeps the groups useful for identification: you can look for a flag with a bird on it without first knowing which bird or why.

Meaning is handled on the individual flag pages, where each symbol is listed with its documented interpretation. Where a symbol has never been officially explained, or where sources disagree, the page says so rather than offering a plausible-sounding guess.

The most and least common symbols

Stars are by far the most widely used charge on national flags, followed by crosses, crescents and suns. Animals, plants and weapons are much rarer, and some categories come down to a single example: only one national flag shows a modern firearm, only one shows a spice, and only one shows a Bible.

The full survey is in the flag facts collection.