List of international flags

This list shows and explains the flags of international governmental and non-governmental organizations and regional alliances .

list

States	flag	SV	Remarks
		≈2: 3	The green flag of the African Union shows the outline of the continent of Africa , illuminated from behind by a white sun, which is supposed to symbolize hope. The continent is framed by 53 gold stars that represent the member states.
		9:14	The Andean Community (formerly Andean Pact or Andean Group, Spanish Comunidad Andina de Naciones, abbreviation: CAN) is an international organization in South America. The CAN is mainly an association of the poorest South American countries and aims at economic, political and social integration.
		2: 3	Antarctica , the southernmost continent in the Antarctic area , which is not a nation and has no government, does not have its own flag either. However, there have been some attempts to create a flag for Antarctica. Graham Bartram's model from July 1996 is based on the color design of the UN flag and shows the Antarctic land mass in white against a blue background. At the 1978 annual meeting of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), Whitney Smith proposed his design for the Antarctic: an orange flag with two hands under a kind of bowl.
			The Antarctic Treaty is an international agreement that stipulates that the uninhabited Antarctic between 60 ° and 90 ° south latitude is reserved exclusively for peaceful use, especially for scientific research.
		2: 3	The Arab League is an organization of Arab states. The twenty chain links represent the twenty member states of the league in adopting this flag. The lettering gives the Arabic name League of Arab States . Green is the traditional color of Islam .
		2: 3	The flag of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) was introduced in November 1993. It consists of ten stylized yellow panicles of rice in a red circle with a white border on a blue background. The ten panicles symbolize the ten members of ASEAN.
		2: 3	Benelux is the short form for the collective name of the Benelux countries , from Be lgien , the Netherlands ( Ne derland ) and Lux embourg . The golden lion stands for the Duchy of Brabant, the red-white-blue colors in the background are the national colors of the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Black is taken from the flag of the Kingdom of Belgium.
		2: 3	The Christian flag was designed by Charles Overton in 1897 to represent Protestants of all denominations .
		1: 2	The Commonwealth of Nations is a loose association of states, which is primarily formed by the United Kingdom and its former colonies. The Commonwealth flag is a deep British blue . On it a golden sun, represented by a globe, surrounded by rays in the form of a " C " for Commonwealth.
		2: 3	Esperanto is the most widely used international planned language . The green of the flag is supposed to symbolize hope, the white symbolizes peace and the five-pointed star stands for the five continents.
		3: 4	The Eurasian Economic Community (Russian: Eвразийское Экономическое Сообщество) is an economic alliance of European and Asian countries.
		5: 8	The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) aims to promote the growth and prosperity of its member states and to deepen trade and economic cooperation between Western European countries and the world as a whole. At the same time it should act as a counterweight to the European Communities and their political goals.
		2: 3	The number of the twelve stars in the EU flag is traditionally a symbol of perfection, completeness and unity. The number twelve is a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen 37,9) and thus to the chosen people of God. The golden wreath of Mary as a symbol of success and triumph signals the invincibility of women. It was only by chance that the number of stars between the adoption of the flag by the EC in 1986 and the enlargement in 1995 matched the number of member states of the EC and therefore remained unchanged afterwards.
		2: 3	The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC abbreviation, often also called the Coal and Steel Union ) was founded in 1951 and gave all member countries access to coal and steel without having to pay customs duties.
		8:11	The Council of Europe is a forum for debates on general European issues. He introduced the European flag in 1955, which was adopted by the European Community in 1986.
		2: 3	The flag of the FIAV shows two yellow flag lines running horizontally through the whole flag on a blue cloth, forming a square knot . The flag lines represent vexillology . The blue base color and the flag lines indicate that shipping was the origin of flagship. The distant resemblance to the love rope is said to be a symbol of the friendship of vexillologists of all nations. The two loops are also reminiscent of the two hemispheres .
		2: 3	Flags of the World (abbr. FOTW) is an international association of vexillologists on the Internet. White stands for peace, blue for progress. The six colors of the stars are the most common colors used in flags. Together the many stars form the circle as a larger symbol. The connection that the stars form is the Internet .
		2: 3	The entirety of the French-speaking (Francophone) states is referred to as Francophonie . The Francophonie flag symbolizes the five continents under Francophone influence.
		2: 3	The Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries is a multilateral forum for friendship and cooperation among Portuguese-speaking countries. The Member States are Portugal and former colonies of Portugal where Portuguese is the official language. The seven subdivisions of the circle refer to the seven member countries. The indicated wavy lines refer to the sea. The lettering CPLP is the abbreviation of the Portuguese organization name Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa .
		1: 2	Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) refers to the amalgamation of various successor states of the Soviet Union (USSR) since December 8, 1991.
		1: 2	The flag of Hispanity ( Hispanidad ) symbolizes the entirety of the Spanish-speaking world, but also a worldview that can be found in Spain and Latin America, according to which the Spanish-speaking world forms a unit. The flag symbolizes the three boats of Christopher Columbus on his discovery of America.
		1: 2	The Gulf Cooperation Council is the cooperation in the foreign and security policy as well as the promotion of the economic and social relations between the members. In the upper part of the circle is the Basmala in Arabic (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم). In the lower part is the name of the organization in Arabic (مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية). The inner circle contains a hexagon that represents the six member states, which are colored brown on the map of the Arabian Peninsula.
		27:50	Ido is a planned language that was created in 1907 by the French mathematician and philosopher Louis Couturat in consultation with the French tutor Louis de Beaufront on the basis of Esperanto. The six-pointed star is said to be an upgrading of the five-pointed Esperanto star, with three points being particularly elongated.
		2: 3	The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) uses the base flag of the UN with the olive branches on which a symbolic model of the atom is placed.
		2: 3	The International Buddhist Flag is a modern creation and has been recognized as a symbol of international Buddhism since 1950 on the occasion of the establishment of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The six colors in which that served as inspiration aura of the Buddha shone after that the Enlightenment had achieved. The first five vertical colors symbolize different Buddhist values.
		2: 3	The flag of the International Co-operative Alliance , an international alliance of cooperatives, uses the rainbow and rainbow flag as a symbol.
		2: 3	The symbol of the Red Cross on a white background , created by reversing the color of the Swiss coat of arms , is a legally binding protective symbol within the framework of the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols. It was agreed in Geneva in 1863 and was created by using the Swiss cross as a model to honor the host country .
		2: 3	The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) uses the UN flag and the coordinate grid, supplemented by two stylized wings as a symbol for aviation.
		2: 3	The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) uses the base flag of the UN without the olive branches, on which a lightning bolt is applied as a symbol for electricity and the English abbreviation of the organization.
		2: 3	The Caribbean Community (Engl. Caribbean Community and Common Market , CARICOM) is an international organization. With the establishment of CARICOM, the EC- oriented change from a free trade area to a community that does not only strive for economic cooperation began. The letters CC stand for the abbreviation for C aribbean C ommunity.
		3: 5	Mercosur is the Spanish abbreviation for Mercado Común del Sur (Common Market of the South). The also official Portuguese name is Mercosul for Mercado Comum do Sul. The flag shows the constellation Cross of the South and a stylized equator under which the name of the community is written.
		13:19	The Central European Free Trade Agreement , CEFTA (Engl. Central European Free Trade Agreement ), is a free trade agreement between several Southeast European and Eastern European countries, and which is under international administration of Kosovo .
		3: 4	According to the official interpretation, the circle in the flag of NATO is “the symbol of the unified sense”. The compass rose represents the common course of the member states towards peace. The blue flag represents the Atlantic Ocean .
			The flag of the Nordic Council , a forum of the Nordic countries , shows a stylized swan in a blue circle on a white background. The eight wing feathers of the swan represent the eight members of the organization.
			The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization based in Paris.
		2: 3	Pierre de Coubertin said of the Olympic rings in 1931 : “ Their shape is to be understood symbolically. It represents the five continents that are united in the Olympic Movement; their six colors correspond to those of all national flags in the world today. “The colors of the rings do not stand for a specific continent, but for the connection between the continents, as at least one color from the national flag of the participating nations can be found in the same color as the Olympic flag.
		3: 5	The OPEC (Engl. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countrie s, dt. OPEC ) is an international in the period between 10, founded in Baghdad until 14 September 1960 organization.
			The Organization of American States (OAS) is an international organization on the American continent. According to the charter, the goals are to promote democratization and human rights, fight crime and drug trafficking, secure peace and create a Pan-American free trade area.
		3: 5	The Organization of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO ) is an international non-governmental organization with consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council. It sees itself as representing the interests of states, nations and peoples not represented at the United Nations.
		2: 3	The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is a supranational confederation in the Caribbean.
		2: 3	The Organization for Islamic Cooperation is an intergovernmental international organization of currently 56 states in which Islam is the state religion, religion of the majority of the population or religion of a large minority. The organization claims to represent the Islamic world.
		11:20	The East African Community (EAC) is a form of economic integration of the East African countries Kenya , Uganda , Tanzania , Rwanda and Burundi with the aim of an economic and customs union.
		2: 3	The Pan-American Sports Organization (English: Pan American Sports Organization, PASO; Spanish: Organización Deportiva Panamericana , ODEPA) represents the 42 National Olympic Committees on the two American continents.
		2: 3	The Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations , also known as the UN Parliament for short, is to be set up as a new organ of the United Nations and uses the base flag of the UN with a stylized parliament.
		7:10	The pace rainbow flag was designed by the Italian pacifist Aldo Capitini for the Perugia-Assisi peace march in 1961. It shows the reverse gradient of a rainbow. The lettering PACE (Italian "Peace") was added later. In 2002 she became known through the campaign Pace da tutti i balconi (" Peace from all balconies ").
		7:10	The Pacific Island Forum (English. Pacific Islands Forum ) is an international organization of the island nations of the Pacific . It was founded in 1973 in Apia (Samoa) by international treaty between Australia , the Cook Islands , Fiji , Nauru , New Zealand , Tonga and Samoa (then Western Samoa).
		2: 3	The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA; Engl .: Council of Mutual Economic Assistance , CMEA ) was established in 1949 in Moscow as a socialist counterweight to the Marshall Plan and the OEEC established. The five points of the communist star stand for democratic centralism . The number five has nothing to do with the number of members.
		GS	The rainbow flag was used in many cultures as a sign of tolerance and longing. This meaning goes back to the rainbow as a symbol of biblical promise after the flood . Today it is also used worldwide by the community of lesbian and gay people as a symbol of identification. Another form of the rainbow flag also stands for the international peace movement : the Bandiera della Pace has been the symbol of the Italian peace movement since 1961.
		2: 3	The red crystal is an attempt to introduce a new international trademark that is not linked to religions.
		2: 3	The Red Crescent is a legally binding symbol under the Geneva Red Cross Agreement.
		2: 3	The South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (Spanish: Zona de Paz y Cooperación del Atlántico Sur ; Portuguese: Zona de Paz e Cooperação do Atlântico Sul ; abbreviation: ZPCAS) was founded in 1986 on the initiative of Brazil to promote cooperation between the neighboring countries of the South Atlantic promote.
		2: 3	The emblem of the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) consists of a stylized temple, the pillars of which consist of the English abbreviation of the organization's name.
			The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) uses the base flag of the UN with the olive branches on which the silhouette of a mother with child is placed.
		2: 3	The Union of South American Nations is a community of 12 South American states. An integration comparable to that of the European Union is to be achieved by 2025. A common currency, parliament and passports are planned. The organization does not yet have an official flag, but several proposals have already been made.
			The United Nations flag has been the official symbol of the United Nations (UN) since 1947 . Today it is often seen as a symbol of the entire earth or humanity. The flag shows the globe on a sky-blue flag cloth in white, framed by two olive branches. The earth is shown with an equidistant azimuthal projection, so the entire land mass permanently inhabited by humans - i.e. without Antarctica - is shown on a map. In the center is the north pole, around it the continents of the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere is distorted by the projection and represented too large in terms of area. In contrast to a cylindrical projection, this representation does not focus on a country or continent.
		2: 3	The World Health Organization (WHO) uses the flag of the UN , on which the UN emblem has the golden staff of Aesculapius as a symbol of medicine.
		2: 3	The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) uses the flag of the UN , with the French (OMM) and English (WMO) abbreviations of the organization above the UN emblem.
		2: 3	The Western European Union (WEU for short) was founded in 1954 as a collective mutual assistance pact. The flag shows ten stars for the member states and the abbreviation of the organization in different languages.
		2: 3	The Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine is an international organization to regulate navigation on the Rhine. It was created in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, making it the oldest international organization in the world.

literature

• Karl-Heinz Hesmer: Flags and coats of arms of the world. History and symbolism of the flags and coats of arms of all states. Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh 1992, ISBN 3-570-01082-1 .
• Arnold Rabbow: Dtv lexicon of political symbols. Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag, Munich 1970, DNB 457871210 .

Web links

Commons : International flags  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Country information on flags.de
• Flag lexicon on flaggenlexikon.de
• National flags on nationalflaggen.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Antarctica - flag proposals. In: crwflags.com. November 29, 1995. Retrieved March 25, 2020 . 
2. ↑ DIE WELT: The wreath of stars is the result of a vow
3. ↑ The vexillological or FIAV symbols ( French: Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques ) are used for the standardized classification of flags.