The meaning of your flag from 1000flags

This is a list of why your country choose the flag it did

This will added to as and when we have more time, can you fill in the gaps ? , please email me

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Andorra - These colours reflect Andorra's link with Spain and France

Antigua and Barbuda - This flag was the winning entry in a competition in 1967

Argentina - The sun represent the sun that shone in May 1810 when rebels overthrew the Spanish

Austria - This is styled on a duke's blood stained tunic!

Bahamas - Yellow reflects the country's sand, blue it's sea and black the pride of its people

Barbados - Based on the colonial flag, which featured Brittania holding a trident

Belgium - The colours come from a 13th Century coat of arms which featured a gold and red lion on black

Belize - The coat of arms shows pictures from the countries timber trade

Bolivia - Red represents the blood spilt in conflict, yellow mineral wealth and green the fertile lands

Brazil - Green and Yellow are the national colours, the stars represent the 27 states in the Federation

Canada - The eleven-pointed Maple leaf has been Canada's national emblem since 1860

Chile - The red, white and blue dates back to the war of independence against Spain

Columbia - Similar to the flags of it's neighbours Ecuador and Venezuela

Costa Rica - Red was added to the Central American Federation flag to reflect the French flag

Cuba - This flag was adopted in 1902 when it won independence from Spain

Czech Republic - When the Czech Republic split from Slovakia, it kept the flag

Denmark - This flag, with it's white cross is thought to be Europes oldest 

Dominica - The bird is a Sisserou parrot, the national bird, unique to thi island

Dominican Republic - The white cross represents Christian faith on top of Haiti's flag  

Ecuador - The coat of arms, topped by a condor, distinguishes this from the Columbian flag

El Salvador - The basis of this flag is the former Central American Federation Flag

estonia - This flag was banned under Soviet rule. Readopted in 1990

Falkland Islands - The flag signifies it is a British territory

Finland - The Blue represent's Finland's many lakes, the white it's snow

France - The flag was first used in the French revolution to represent liberty,equality and fraternity 

French Guiana - The official flag is the French tricolor  

Germany - This historic flag now represents a united Germany

Gibraltar - The coat of arms shows the historical link to Spain

Greenland - Unknown (Can you help ?)

Grenada - The Central Star represents Grenada's capital. the Star it's parishes and a nutmeg is also shown

Guatemala - The coat of arms features the quetzal, a famous local bird

Guyana - Also called the "Golden Arrow"

Haiti - Lovely story this one! - the flag was sewn together from scraps of the French flag during the fight for independence from France

Honduras - The stars represent the 5 original members of the former central America Federation

Iceland - Blue symbolizes it's ocean, white it's snow and red it's volcanoes

Italy - The flag is based on the standard designed by Napoleon during the Italian campaign of 1796

Jamaica - "Hardships there are but the land is green and the sun shineth" is how the people describe their flag

Latvia - banned under Soviet rule, this flag was reintroduced in 1990

Liechtenstein - The crown was added to differentiate it from the flag of Haiti

lithuania - Lithuania reverted to these traditional colours just before independence 

Luxembourg - The horizontal tricolour was first used in 1848, but not officially adopted until 1972

Malta - The George Cross was added after it was awaded to the islanders by George VI 

Mexico - The eagle and cactus recall an Aztec legend about the founding of Mexico City

Monaco - Red and White comes from the coat of arm of the Grimaldi family, the long time rulers

Netherlands - The flag was based on the livery of William of Orange, the first ruler of the republic

Nicaragua - This country retained the flag of the Central American Federation after it dissolved

norway - designed in 1821, thi flag was officially adopted in 1898

Panama - The colours represent the two main political parties. Blue for Conservative, Red for Liberal

Paraguay - based on the French flag. Officially has different emblems on either side (ours does not sorry!) making it unique in national flags

Peru - The red and white was inspired by a flock of flying flamingos!

Poland - Red and White has been used on the Polish flag since the 1600's

Portugal - The navgational device behind the coat of arms is to symbolize its role in global exploration

Republic of Ireland - The green stands for Roman Catholics, the orange for Protestants and the white for peace 

San Marino - The colours represent the peaks of Monte Titano, San Marino's highest mountain

Slovenia - The coat of arms featuring the three peaks of Mount Trglav, was added on independence

Spain - Red and Yellow was first used in 785 to distinguish Spanish ships from others

St Kitts and Nevis - The colours stand for the fertile land, the sun, the struggle for freedom and the peoples African heritage

St Lucia - Blue represents the sea, gold the sunshine, and Black and White the people

St Vincent and Grenadines - The 3 green diamonds in the centre form a V for Vincent

Suriname - The star represents unity between the people

Sweden - This scandinavian cross is borrowed from the Danish flag

Switzerland - A white cross on a red background has been used on the Swiss flag since 1339

Trinidad and Tobago - the black stripe stands for the people and for the islands plentiful oil and gas 

United Kingdom - The Union Flag is made up of three crosses representing England, Scotland and Ireland

United States of America - The "Stars and Stripes" has 13 Stripes for the original British colonies and 50 stars, one for each State

Uruguay - based on the flag of Argentina, the first indepenent South America nation

Vatica City - This flag, belonging to the Pope's official home, includes the crossed papal keys

Venezuela - The arc of 7 stars represents the seven provinces that supported independence