Flags, symbols and the stories behind their colors.
About this quiz
This Flag Quiz is less about matching flags to countries and more about what their designs mean: the colors, stars, crosses and emblems, and how they were chosen. You'll be asked who designed some famous flags, what their symbols stand for and why a few of them break the usual rules.
It also covers the language of flags, such as hoist and fly, white flags and naval signals, plus national symbols beyond flags, like the thistle. Each round has 10 questions on a 20-second clock, and the story after every answer makes the next flag you see a little more interesting.
Try a few questions
Tap an answer to check it, or open the answer underneath.
The plain red circle on Japan's flag represents what?
- The moon
- The sun
- A red pearl
- A drop of blood
Answer: The sun
Did you know? Japan's flag shows a red disc symbolising the sun, fitting for a country whose name means 'origin of the sun', or 'Land of the Rising Sun'. The simple, bold design is one of the most recognisable in the world.
The flag of which US state includes the Union Jack?
- Maine
- Hawaii
- Georgia
- Virginia
Answer: Hawaii
Did you know? King Kamehameha I had been given a British flag around 1793 and flew it as a sign of friendship, and the kingdom's later flag combined it with stripes for the eight main islands. Hawaii kept the design through annexation and statehood, making it the only state flag to carry a foreign country's emblem.
The bird on Zimbabwe's flag is based on what?
- Stone carvings from an ancient ruined city
- Rock paintings in the Matobo Hills
- A bird on a colonial-era postage stamp
- A tribal chief's feathered headdress
Answer: Stone carvings from an ancient ruined city
Did you know? The Zimbabwe Bird copies soapstone birds found at Great Zimbabwe, the medieval stone city that also gave the country its name. Several of the carvings were taken abroad in colonial times, and some have since been returned.
Papua New Guinea's flag was designed in 1971 by whom?
- A committee of tribal chiefs
- A fifteen-year-old schoolgirl
- A retired Australian officer
- A Catholic missionary priest
Answer: A fifteen-year-old schoolgirl
Did you know? Susan Karike won a national competition with the design. It combines the Southern Cross with a bird of paradise on black and red.