National flag

A national flag is a flag that symbolises a country and that can usually be flown by citizens of that country.

Both public and private buildings such as schools and courthouses often fly the national flag. In some countries, the national flags are only flown from non-military buildings on certain flag days.

There are three distinct types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, although many countries use identical designs for several (and sometimes all) of these types of flag.

National flags on land

), state flags (FIAV 010000.svg), and war or military flags (FIAV 001000.svg). State flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone irrespective of whether they are linked to government. War flags (also called military flags) are used by military organisations such as armies.

). In a number of countries, however — notably those in Latin America — there is a distinct difference between civil and state flags. In most cases, the civil flag is a simplified version of the state flag, the difference often being the presence of a coat of arms on the state flag which is absent from the civil flag.

Very few countries use a war flag that differs from the state flag.

National ensigns at sea

), flown by private vessels; state ensigns (also called government ensigns; FIAV 000010.svg), flown by government ships; and war ensigns (also called naval ensigns; FIAV 000001.svg), flown by naval vessels. The ensign is flown from an ensign-staff at the stern of the ship, or from a gaff when underway. Both these positions are superior to any other on the ship, even though the masthead is higher. In the absence of a gaff the ensign may be flown from the yardarm. (See Maritime flags.) National flags may also be flown by aircraft and the vehicles of important officials.

In some countries, such as the United States and France, the national ensign is identical to the national flag, while in others, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, there are specific ensigns for maritime use. Most countries do not have a separate state ensign, although the United Kingdom is a rare exception, in having a red ensign for civil use, a white ensign as its naval ensign, and a blue ensign for government non-military vessels.

Similar flags

Although the national flag is meant to be a unique symbol for a country, it is possible that different countries do have similar or equal flags. An example of this are the flags of Monaco and Indonesia, which only differ slightly in size. Another pair of highly similar flags are the flags of the Netherlands and of Luxembourg; it is sometimes incorrectly stated that those countries use a slightly different shade of blue as a distinction whereas in fact their dimensions are a better differentiation. The flags of Romania and Chad are almost completely identical, with Andorra's also being very similar. Furthermore, it is also possible that a country's current flag is similar to flags that have been used by other countries earlier in history. A modern example is the flag of Albania, which was the war flag of Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire.

Flag protocol

There is a great deal of protocol involved in the proper display of national flags. For example, national flags should never be flown upside down (where this is possible) except as a distress signal.

There are many regulations concerning the display of national flags, but the general rule is that the national flag should be flown in the position of honor, and not in an inferior position to any other flag (although some countries make an exception for royal standards). The following regulations are typical.

When a national flag is displayed together with any other flags, it must be hoisted first and lowered last.
When a national flag is displayed together with the national flags of other countries, all the flags should be of approximately equal size and must be flown at an equal height, although the national flag of the host country should be flown in the position of honour (in the center of an odd number of flagstaffs or at the far right — left from an observer's point of view — of an even number of flagstaffs).
When a national flag is displayed together with flags other than national flags, it should be flown on a separate flagstaff, either higher or in the position of honor.
When a national flag is displayed together with any other flags on the same flagstaff, it must be at the top, though separate flagstaffs are preferable.
When a national flag is displayed together with any other flag on crossed staffs, the national flag must be on the observer's left and its staff must be in front of the staff of the other flag.
When a national flag is displayed together with another flag or flags in procession, the national flag must be on the marching right. If there is a row of flags, it should be in the position of honor.

Nation, country and state

Cornwall is considered by some to be a nation in which is a constituent country of the . The United Kingdom is an internationally recognised sovereign state. The terminology can be further complicated by the use of the word state to mean a non-sovereign sub-entity of a sovereign state, as is done in the and . In most English-speaking countries when the terms state, nation and country are used internally, they are understood by the context in which they are used and are not controversial. However, when these terms are used to describe the statehood aspirations of a people who do not currently live in the internationally recognised independent state they would like to inhabit, these terms can be controversial and open to misunderstanding.

External links

Flags of the World, a massive online vexillological database on national and many other kinds of flags
The World All Countries Flags, a website about national symbols
World Flag Database
OpenClipart.org collection includes flags of the world in vector graphics format (SVG)
National Flags database and History of flags

National flags | National symbols | Vexillology