East Timor

The flag derives from Fretilin in 1975. The black represents four centuries of colonial oppression, and the arrowheads are reminiscent of the struggle for independence. The red symbolizes the blood that the people have sacrificed in the freedom struggle. The white star represents the hope of the future.

Vietnam

The flag gained official status in North Vietnam in 1955 but was introduced there as early as 1943. Following the association of North and South Vietnam is the common national symbol since 1976. The star’s five tips are said to represent the country’s workers, farmers, soldiers, intellectuals and youth.

Uzbekistan

The flag was adopted in 1991. In the color symbolism, blue stands for the country’s lakes and rivers, white for peace, green for fertility and nature. The moonlight with accompanying stars is a traditional Islamic symbol; the number of stars corresponds to the months of the year.

Turkmenistan

The flag was established in 1997, when the former flag of 1991 made a minor correction of the pattern in the vertical field. The green color of the cloth as well as the white moonlight indicates that the country’s population belongs to the Islamic religion.

Turkey

The flag is said to have come into use as early as 1793; however, it was officially established only in 1936. From the beginning of the 13th century, the canvas was completely red; The traditional color of the Ottoman Empire was red. Moonlight has Byzantine origin; together with a five-pointed star, it symbolizes Islam.

Thailand

The flag is officially in place since 1917. Blue is the country’s old royal color. Red symbolizes the sacrifice of the people for the land, the purity of the Buddhist faith. The national name of the flag is Trairong (‘tricolor’).

Taiwan

According to CountryAAH, located in East Asia, Taiwan is not a country but a province of China. The Taiwan flag applied to all of China during the Nationalist regime 1928-1949; however, it was put into operation as early as 1914. From 1949, it is only Taiwan’s flag. The twelve rays of the sun symbolize the uninterrupted progress; each beam corresponds to two of the day’s hours. In the color symbolism, red stands for the nation’s sacrifice and self-confidence, white for brotherhood and blue for equality and justice.

Tajikistan

The flag was introduced in 1993, when it replaced the flag of the then Soviet Republic of Tajikistan from 1953. The colors red-white-green were maintained in the same order, but in a wider white center field a newly created state emblem was inserted.

Syria

The flag was given the current design in 1980 after being changed five times since 1944. However, the panarabic colors green-black-red-white have always been included in the composition. The stars in the center field are reminiscent of the United Arab Republic (Syria-Egypt), which ceased in 1961.

South Korea

The flag was officially established in 1950 but has a very old origin. The flag cloth has the white color of peace and is dominated by the national symbol Taeguk, a circular disc divided equally by an S-shaped line. Its upper red part represents yang, its lower blue part yin, ancient Confucian concepts of dualism between fire and water, light and darkness, active and passive, etc. The view is that constant contradictions in the universe create balance and harmony. Surrounding four characters, trigram, representing i.a. the four elements, also link to the theory of contradictions and balance.

Sri Lanka

The flag was officially established in 1978 but was adopted as early as 1948, when it lacked the fields of green and orange, which were in 1951 inserted as symbols of the island’s Hindu (orange) and Muslim (green) minorities. The lion has a tradition from the 500’s BC.

Singapore

The flag was officially established in 1959. Red and white are the so-called Malay colors; red here also symbolizes equality and fraternity, white high morals. The moonlight with the stars represents the young state formation’s pursuit of the five ideals: democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

Saudi Arabia

The flag was set in 1938 (slightly corrected in 1973), but its origins are from the 1750’s. The plain cloth has the holy color of the Prophet. The text of the lying sword is the Islamic formula of faith: “No God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.”

Qatar

al-Zubara, abandoned town and archaeological site on the coast of northwestern Qatar, former center for pearl fishing and commerce (2013)

The flag was officially established in 1971 but has been in use since 1949. The chestnut color, which is unique among the world’s flags, was previously red but was changed to distinguish the flag from neighboring Bahrains. Another feature is the extremely narrow flag cloth (the proportions are 11:28).

Pakistan

The flag was set in 1947, but as early as 1906, the Muslim independence movement in British India began to use a similar flag. The green color as well as the moonlight with the star has old Muslim tradition. The white field symbolizes the country’s non-Muslim minorities.

Oman

The flag was established in 1970, but its design was corrected in 1995 in such a way that the three horizontal fields were made equally wide; previously, the red center field had only half the current width. The red color has a long tradition in the countries around the Persian Gulf, green stands for Islam as well as the forested Jabal al-Akhdar massif (‘the Green Mountains’), white for peace. In the upper inner corner is the state coat of arms: a belt with a dagger and two crossed hook cables.

North Korea

The flag was adopted in 1948. In the color symbolism stands red for revolution and socialism and blue for peace; white is the Korean national color, which here marks the country’s dignity. The five-edged red star is the symbol of the Korean Workers’ Party.

Nepal

The flag was last established in 1962 but the origin is much older. No other country has a flag of this design (initially two pennants merged). Red is the country’s national color. The moon symbol stands for the monarchy and the sun previously stood for the hereditary head of government until 1962; nowadays, the moon and the sun are considered to jointly mark the hope that the land will last as long as these celestial bodies.

Mongolia

The flag was established in 1992 and differs from the 1949 in that the star over the soybean symbol was removed.

Maldives

The flag was officially adopted in 1965; from the beginning of the 20th century, however, an unofficial flag of approximately the same appearance has been used. In the color symbolism stands red for the victims of the freedom struggle, green for peace and progress while being the sacred color of Islam.

Malaysia

The flag was officially adopted in 1963 but had been in use since 1950. The red-white stripes, like the star’s capes, are 14 in number and represent the country’s states. Red and white are of Malay colors and also appear on the flags of Indonesia and Singapore. Moonlight and star stand for Islam. The similarity to the US flag is unintentional.

Lebanon

The flag was officially adopted in 1943. The cedar tree is the national symbol of the country and was already on the flag from 1920 while it was still France’s tricolor. In color symbolism, red stands for people’s self-sacrifice, white for peace.

Laos

The flag was officially established in 1975. As the flag of the Revolutionary Party, it had been in use since 1956. The color scheme represents red for the victims of the freedom struggle, blue for the country’s prosperity, white for the bright future. The colors go again in i.a. The flags of Thailand and North Korea.