You’ve Probably Never Seen These 15 Incredible Flags From Around the World

Stars may be the most commonly used symbol on flags, but there’s still something arresting about seeing them front and center. While the five-point white star on the blue background of the Somali flag is similar to the cờ đỏ sao vàng (‘red flag with gold star’) of Vietnam, the meaning behind the Somali iteration is especially fascinating—each point represents traditional residences of Somali people; Djibouti, Somaliland, as well as parts of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.

Is there truly anything cooler than having a giant red dragon as your national symbol? Wales probably doesn’t think so, given that their eccentrically designed flag features just that, set against a green and white background. It’s probably unsurprising that this design was difficult to fully incorporate alongside the flags of Northern Ireland, England, and Scotland when it came time to create the Union Jack.

Alongside Switzerland and the Vatican, Nepal is the only country with an irregularly shaped national flag, although it definitely helps set it apart in a sea of hugely similar designs. The jagged edge is actually meant to symbolize the peaks of the Himalayas, with the red of the background representing the country’s national flower, the rhododendron. A blue border hems in the design with peace.

One of the world’s most unique and eye-catching, but still deceptively simple, flag designs is found in the Seychelles. Featuring five diagonal lines splaying out from the bottom left corner, each band has its own block color—blue, yellow, red, white and green. While each holds its own significance, together they indicate the Seychelles’ journey towards the future.

Another flag influenced by a sunbeam style design, albeit in a rather more literal sense, is that of the Republic of Macedonia. Known as the “sun of liberty,” the design centers around a bold yellow circle at the heart of the flag, as eight individual rays fan out atop a red background. Despite being objectively cool in appearance, many Macedonians objected to the new flag when it launched in 1995.

Wales isn’t alone in putting a mythical beast on its national flag, as Bhutan also muscled in on the dragon action with the launch of their current flag in 1969. While some people (in Wales) would argue that Wales’ bold red version is far cooler than Bhutan’s golden version, others would suggest that this design based on ancient teachings wins, hands-down.

Not as outwardly eye-catching as some of the previous flags, arguably thanks to a darker black and red diagonal design, the flag of Papua New Guinea is principally intriguing thanks to its backstory. It was the brainchild of a 15-year-old competition winner, Susan Karike, and manages to elegantly incorporate traditional colors, plus the national bird (a raggiana bird-of-paradise), as well as the Southern Cross constellation.

At first glance, the Belarussian flag probably looks pretty basic, adopting the most common layout of two parallel bars stacked one atop the other in red and green. However, glance over to the left and you’ll spot an intricately patterned red and white border. Inspired by traditional Belarusian ruchnik design, this addition to an otherwise unobtrusive flag proves the devil’s really in the details.

Saint Lucia’s flag is notably cool for breaking the mold set by most flags. Set against a blue background, a pyramid-esque design comprised of three shades and two different styles of triangle, rises up in the center of the layout. While the blue signifies the ocean encircling the island, the black and white encompass the racial harmony of the nation, while the yellow stands for prosperity.

Fiji only recently voted to maintain the Union Jack, which sits in the top left corner of their national flag, giving us all a lesson in how to bring together seemingly disharmonious elements … including the national symbol of their former colonizers. The majority of the rest of the flag is bathed in a pale blue, while the Fijian shield with its detailed dove, bananas, lion, sugar cane, and palm leaf components sits happily to the right.

Eschewing the simple designs many nations prefer for their flags—think the plain red dot of Japan or the straight lines of … well, pretty much everywhere in Europe—the Swaziland flag brings together a medley of elements. A reminder of the nation’s military traditions, the striped red, yellow and blue background is perhaps the most basic part of the whole ensemble, while the black and white focal point is a Nguni shield epitomizing the harmony between people of all colors in Swaziland.

The flag of Kiribati is just straight up cool, throwing into the mix a wavy-lined pattern rarely seen on flags, upon which sits a golden boat. A golden bird brings the whole piece together, soaring above the design that lies below. A fun fact about Kiribati’s national flag is that it mirrors the shield in the country’s coat of arms. The name for flags like this? Armorial banners.

Given that Sicilians are culturally very different from the rest of Italy, it makes sense that they should have their own flag. What doesn’t necessarily make sense at first glance is why it uses a diagonally-sliced red and yellow background, topped with a three-legged Medusa head with literal ears of corn. Technically known as a triskelion, the three legs are actually said to represent the Sicily’s triangular shape.

The self-governing French territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada has a superbly cool, but most definitely unofficial, flag. An assault on the eyes, the design is best described as busy, dominated on the right by a golden boat floating on a blue sea, while to the left, three squares signify the ethnic backgrounds of the majority of the islanders—Basque, Breton, and Norman.

Although Tibet remains under Chinese control, that hasn’t stopped them from adopting their own flag, which rankled China so much that it can no longer be flown on Chinese soil. Adopted by the Dalai Lama in 1916, the Tibetan flag brings together a mountain of snow, lions, and a glorious blue and red sunbeam bordered on three sides with yellow. The flag has since become a symbol of Tibetan independence.