Countries with identical flags

Hey, have you ever tried to guess how many flags of different countries you can recognize without searching them up? You might know some of them like the one with stars and stripes or the one with a maple leaf, but what about these two over here? It's tricky because some countries have flags that look almost the same, even if you're really good at geography!

New Zealand and Australia

Okay, let's talk about Australia and New Zealand's flags. They both have a lot of similarities, but they look too much alike! Both flags have a blue background with the Union Jack in the top left corner to show their history with Britain. This type of flag is called the British Blue Ensign. The only differences between the two flags are the shades of blue and red, and the stars. New Zealand's flag has four stars that represent the Southern Cross constellation. Australia's flag also has the Southern Cross, but with five stars and an extra big star called the Commonwealth or Federation star.

Indonesia and Monaco

These two countries don't have much in common, except for their flags which look almost the same. Both flags have two stripes, one red and one white, and they are both really old. The flag of Monaco uses the same colors as the royal family's shield, which is like their family symbol. The flag of Indonesia is a reminder of a time when it was part of a big empire. The red and white colors on the Indonesian flag mean that nature has two sides. The only difference between the two flags is that the Indonesian one is longer. But get this - if you turn either flag upside down, it looks like the flag of Poland!

Venezuela, Colombia, Equador

Back in 1822, a new country called Gran Colombia was created. They made their flag with three stripes in yellow, blue, and red. Even though the country only lasted for 8 years, their flag inspired the flags of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Venezuela's flag has three stripes too, but they're all the same size. There's a group of stars in the middle and a special symbol in the top left corner.

Ecuador's flag also has a special symbol, but it's in the middle of the flag.

Colombia's flag has stripes that are different sizes, and the yellow stripe is the biggest one.

So even though Gran Colombia isn't around anymore, their flag still lives on in the flags of other countries!

Nicaragua and Honduras

"Hey, did you know that Honduras and Guatemala have flags that are kinda similar? They both got their ideas from a country called the United Provinces of Central America that was around a long time ago in the 1800s. Honduras made their flag official in 1866 and it's got five stars on a white stripe in the middle. Those stars represent the five original provinces of Central America, which were Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and two others. Cool, huh?"

Costa Rica and El Salvador.

Did you know that Nicaragua's flag is pretty cool? It has five volcanoes on it instead of stars like our flag. But both flags have blue stripes that represent the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. How neat is that?

Norway and Iceland

Did you know that Norway and Iceland got their flag inspiration from Denmark? They both have a white cross that looks like it's from Scandinavia and the colors red and blue. But, Norway's flag has more red and a white border around the cross. Iceland's flag has more blue and a white border around the cross too. Cool, huh?

Luxembourg and Netherlands

Hey there! Did you know that the Dutch flag has been around for a really long time? It's been the official flag since the 1600s! That makes it one of the oldest flags in the world. And guess what? Other countries were inspired by it and made their own tricolor flags, like France and Russia. Before the Dutch flag looked like it does now, the top stripe used to be orange because that was the color of the Dutch royalty. But they changed it to red, white, and blue. And did you know that the flag of Luxembourg is different from the Dutch flag? It's not just a copy! The blue is a different shade and the ratio of the stripes is different too. Cool, huh?

Tunisia and Turkey

Did you know that the Turkish flag we see today with a white star and a crescent was made in the 19th century? It was actually inspired by the flag of the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, Tunisia was also part of the Ottoman Empire, but they wanted to have their own flag that looked similar to the Ottoman one without being exactly the same. The ruler of Tunisia, Hussein Bey II, was worried that other countries might attack his ships if they thought they were Ottoman ships. So, in 1827, the modern flag of Tunisia was created and it looks a lot like the Turkish flag we know today!

Egypt, Iraq, Yemen

Hey there! Did you know that many countries in the Middle East have flags that are based on the Arab Liberation Flag from 1952? This flag has three stripes - red, white, and black - that are all the same size. The red stripe stands for unity and coming together during a revolution. The white stripe represents a bright future, and the black stripe represents the dark past. Yemen's flag is basically the same as the Arab Liberation Flag, but Egypt and Iraq have added their own special symbols. Egypt's flag has an eagle in the middle, and Iraq's flag was changed in 2008 to have different symbols in the green part. Cool, huh?

Bahrain and Qatar

Did you know that some people get confused between the flags of Bahrain and Qatar? But don't worry, the locals can tell you that they are totally different! Let me break it down for you. The Bahraini flag has two colors, white and red, while the Qatari flag has white and maroon. Also, the Qatari flag has nine white points that represent when Qatar became the 9th member of the “reconciled Emirates” of the Persian Gulf in 1916. On the other hand, the Bahraini flag has five white points that stand for the Five Pillars of Islam. So, now you know the difference between these two flags!

Samoa and Taiwan

Did you know that the United Nations picked the flag of Samoa back in 1949? It's got a red background with a blue rectangle in the top corner. Inside that blue part, there's a group of stars called the Southern Cross. There are four big stars and one little star. Pretty cool, huh? Taiwan also has a flag that's mostly red with blue in the top corner. But on their flag, there's a white circle that represents the sun. Around the circle, there are twelve triangles or rays. So now you know a little bit about these two flags!

Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia

Back in 1696, the Russian tricolor flag was made. It looked like the Dutch flag and was used on ships and as the national flag. But then during the Soviet times, they changed it. In 1991, they brought back the tricolor flag with a different size. Other countries in Europe liked the tricolor flag too and made their own versions. The flags of Slovakia and Slovenia are similar to Russia's, but they have their own coat of arms in the middle and are longer.

Croatia and Paraguay

Even though Croatia and Paraguay are really far apart, they both have flags with the same three colors in the same order. Croatia's flag also has a shield in the middle with five old coats of arms from different parts of Croatia. The flag of Paraguay has the same colors as the French flag because people think the French Revolution inspired independence movements in Latin America. And since the French flag is kind of like the Dutch flag, Paraguay and Croatia have a little bit of history in common. One cool thing about the Paraguay flag is that it has two sides - one with the national coat of arms and one with the seal of the treasury.

Ireland and India

Hey, did you know that the flags of Ireland and India have the same colors? It's true! The green, white, and orange on the Irish flag represent peace between two religious groups, Catholics and Protestants. The white means a truce. On the Indian flag, the orange means courage and sacrifice, the white means peace and truth, and the green means faith and chivalry. There's also a wheel in the middle called Ashoka Chakra. It's pretty cool because no other flags in the world look so similar!

Romania and Chad

Hey there! Did you know that some flags can look really similar, but if you're a flag expert, you can spot the differences? Take the flags of Romania and Chad for example. The only difference between them is the shades of blue, yellow, and red in their vertical stripes. But did you know that these flags have totally different origins? Romania's flag has been around since 1861, while Chad's flag was created in 1960 when they gained independence from France. Fun fact: the first version of Chad's flag had a green stripe, but it looked too much like Mali's flag, so they changed it to blue. Can you think of any other flags that look alike?