Green, Yellow and Blue Flags

Which countries have green, yellow and blue flags?

• Brazil (South America): a green field with a large yellow diamond and a blue globe. It is the only one with a diamond.
• Gabon (Africa): three horizontal stripes of green, yellow and blue.
• Solomon Islands (Oceania): a diagonal split, blue above and green below, with a yellow stripe and five white stars.
• St. Vincent & Grenadines (North America): vertical blue, yellow and green bands with three green diamonds in a V shape.
• Christmas Island: a blue and green diagonal flag with a yellow disc and the Southern Cross.

To tell them apart, check the layout first. Horizontal stripes mean Gabon. Vertical bands mean St. Vincent & Grenadines. A diagonal means Solomon Islands or Christmas Island, and a yellow diamond means Brazil.

Flags that include these colors with others are Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Comoros, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Seychelles and South Africa.

Why are green, yellow and blue used on flags?

These three colors often point to land, sunshine and water. Green stands for forests and farmland, yellow for sun, sand or mineral wealth, and blue for the sea or sky.

Brazil's flag shows the same idea: green for forests, yellow for gold and the globe for the night sky. The Caribbean and Pacific flags use it too. In St. Vincent & Grenadines the blue stands for sky and sea, yellow for sunshine and green for vegetation. The Solomon Islands use blue for the ocean, green for the land and yellow for the sun.

Gabon's flag follows a similar logic: green for the forests that cover most of the country, yellow for the equator that crosses it and blue for the Atlantic coast. Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, shows its jungle, its sea and the Southern Cross on one flag.