GeezerVison

BENIN • Benin readopted the original flag of Dahomey on August 1.

BULGARIA • The communist emblem was removed from the national flag on November 22.

CAMBODIA • The Cambodian government-in-exile readopted the 1948 flag on February 3.

CHINA • On April 4, the Chinese government adopted a flag for Hong Kong in advance of the 1997 handover.

DOMINICA • The yellow outlines around the stars on the national flag were removed on November 3.

GERMANY • East Germany reunified with West Germany on October 3.

HAUDENOSAUNEE • The Iroquouis Nationals – the national lacrosse team of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy – had their first international game at the World Lacrosse Championship in Australia. Since they didn't have a national flag to compete under, the team created one with an image of the Hiawatha belt, a historic artifact which had just been returned to the Onondaga nation the previous year. This wampum belt records the union of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk nations.

MĀORI • The Tino Rangatiratanga ("absolute sovereignty") flag was unveiled by the activist group Te Kawariki on February 6, the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The flag depicts the shape of a curling silver fern frond.

NAMIBIA • Namibia officially adopted a flag on February 2, in advance of its independence on March 21.

POLAND • The crown on the coat of arms was restored on February 9.

SAINT MARTIN • The Unity Flag, designed to represent the people of both sides of the island, was adopted on August 31, at the Preliminary Conference on National Symbols in Philipsburg. At the time, only the Dutch half of the island had an official flag.

SOVIET UNION • Several member republics officially readopted their original flags from 1918: Latvia on February 27, Estonia on August 7, Armenia on August 24, Georgia on November 4, and Azerbaijan on November 29.

Moldova adopted an entirely new national flag on November 6, based on the tricolour flag of neighbouring Romania.

Ethnic tensions throughout the Soviet Union continued to rise, spawning new breakaway movements within the member repbulics. Gagauzia unilaterally declared its secession from Moldova on August 11. Chechnya adopted a national flag on November 23 and declared its sovereignty from Russia a few days later. South Ossetia adopted the Ossetian tricolour on November 26 as tensions rose with Georgia.

YEMEN • North Yemen and South Yemen merged to form a single Republic of Yemen on May 22.

¹ Flag of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, which sought the independence from France. ↩

² The flag of the kingdom of ʻUvea, used as an unofficial symbol for the entire territory. ↩

³ A popular but unofficial local flag. ↩

⁴ An unofficial flag flown by Guadeloupe nationalists. There is also a rarely used "heraldic banner" based on the coat of arms of Pointe-à-Pitre. ↩

⁵ An unofficial flag flown by Martinican nationalists and occasionally by local municipalities. ↩

⁶ A common cultural flag representing both the French and Dutch halves of the island of Saint Martin. ↩

⁷ The unofficial but popular cultural flag of the island. ↩

⁸ Flown by the government, the navy, the national police, and national sports teams. Raised at major ceremonies. The army uses a similar flag with a different coat of arms. ↩

⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁰ The most common flag, flown over most government buildings, at ceremonies, by diplomatic missions and often by public citizens. ↩

¹¹ An alternative government flag, most commonly flown by the armed forces but also on some public buildings and offices. ↩

¹² The simplest version of the national flag, flown by some private citizens. ↩

¹³ The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩

¹⁴ Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩

¹⁵ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹⁶ A traditional military emblem, ceremonially flown alongside the national flag at government buildings. ↩

¹⁷ A historic flag, ceremonially flown alongside the national flag at government buildings. ↩

¹⁸ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩

¹⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²⁰ Flown by the governmnent. The armed forces flew a similar flag with olive and laurel branches around the coat of arms. ↩

²¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²² Flown by the Polisario Front and the unrecognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which claims to be the rightful government of the disputed Western Sahara. Most of the territory is occupied by Morocco. ↩

²³ Flag of the Eritrean Liberation Front, which sought independence from Ethiopia. Direct predecessor of the modern flag. The provincial government did not have an official flag. ↩

²⁴ Flag of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, which sought independence for the southern part of Sudan. Direct predecessor of the modern flag. The region did not have an official flag within Sudan. ↩

²⁵ Flag of the Oromo Liberation Front, a nationalist liberation movement within Ethiopia. Oromia did not have an official flag within Ethiopia at this time. ↩

²⁶ Flag of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, a nationalist liberation movement within Ethiopia. Direct predecessor of the modern regional flag. Tigray did not have an official flag within Ethiopia at this time. ↩

²⁷ Flown by private citizens and municipalities. ↩

²⁸ Flown by the federal government and the armed forces. ↩

²⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

³⁰ Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩

³¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

³² Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩

³³ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

³⁴ Flown on government buildings and coast guard ships. ↩

³⁵ Flown for all purposes. A three-tailed version of the national flag is flown by the military. ↩

³⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

³⁷ Flown by the government, border guard, and public universities. The armed forces fly a version with a swallowtail cut. ↩

³⁸ Northen Ireland has not had an official flag since 1973, but the Ulster Banner is still flown by some sporting teams and private citizens. More or less exclusively a unionist symbol. Nationalists tend to fly the Irish tricolour instead. ↩

³⁹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁴⁰ Flown over the Prince's Palace and government buildings. ↩

⁴¹ The traditional Catalan flag, and the official flag of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. ↩

⁴² The flag preferred by supporters of Catalan independence. ↩

⁴³ The hammer and sickle was only on the front side of the flag. ↩

⁴⁴ Flown over the Presidential Palace, parliament, provincial legislatures, and other government buildings. Technically only allowed for private use on national holidays, but in practice flown throughout the year by anyone. ↩

⁴⁵ Only supposed to be flown by embassies, airports, and merchant ships. In practice, flown by private citizens as well. ↩

⁴⁶ The back side of the flag was just a plain tricolour. ↩

⁴⁷ Banned within the People's Republic of China. The Tibet Autonomous Region does not have an official flag. ↩

⁴⁸ Flag of the Afghan Interim Government in Pakistan, flown by mujahideen fighters within the country. ↩

⁴⁹ Flown by the departmental council and used as a local flag. ↩

⁵⁰ Flown by the Chagossians, who were forcibly removed from the islands by the British to make way for a military base. The islands are officially administered as the British Indian Ocean Territory, which has a colonial ensign with wavy white and blue stripes and a palm tree badge. ↩

⁵¹ Flown in the Indian-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir. ↩

⁵² Flown in the Pakistan-controlled parts of the disputed region of Kashmir. ↩

⁵³ Flown by Baloch nationalists seeking independence from Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. The star is sometimes flipped upside down or replaced by a white sun. The provincial government of Balochistan in Pakistan flies a green flag with a white camel emblem. ↩

⁵⁴ Flown by nationalists and separatists. The Indian state of Nagaland does not have an official flag. ↩

⁵⁵ The popular but unofficial flag of the Kannada people. The Indian state of Karnataka does not have an official flag. ↩

⁵⁶ The flag of the Republic of China, which is the government of Taiwan. Banned on the mainland, as the People's Republic of China claims sovereignty over the island. At major international sporting events like the Olympics, Taiwan competes under the name "Chinese Taipei" and flies a neutral flag. ↩

⁵⁷ Flown by the State of Cambodia, the partially-recognized state in control of Phnom Penh. ↩

⁵⁸ Flown by the National Government of Cambodia, the government-in-exile which retained control of Cambodia's UN seat. ↩

⁵⁹ Flown by nationalists seeking the indpenedence of Timor-Leste. Under Indonesian occupation, flying the flag was illegal. The rarely-used official flag of "Timor Timur" was orange with the provincial seal in the middle. ↩

⁶⁰ Flown by Karen nationalists seeking independence and separation from Myanmar. Kayin State has its own flag, a blue-white-red tricolour with a white star in the top left. ↩

⁶¹ The national flag of the Uyghur people, banned within the People's Republic of China. Xinjiang Region does not have an official flag. ↩