Blue and Yellow Flags

Which countries have blue and yellow flags?

The seven flags that use only these colors are easy to separate by layout:

• Ukraine: two horizontal stripes, blue above yellow.
• Sweden: a yellow Nordic cross on a blue field, with the vertical bar shifted toward the hoist.
• Nauru: a blue field with a thin yellow horizontal stripe and a white twelve-pointed star below it.
• Kosovo: blue with a gold map of the country and six white stars above it.
• Aruba: blue with two narrow yellow stripes and a four-pointed red and white star in the corner.
• Curaçao: blue with a yellow band near the bottom and two white stars in the corner.
• Tokelau: blue with a yellow canoe on the left and four white stars of the Southern Cross.

Among flags that carry other colors, there are several families. Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela have yellow, blue and red horizontal stripes. Romania, Chad, Andorra and Moldova have blue, yellow and red vertical stripes. Brazil, Mongolia, Malaysia, Kiribati, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Eswatini are other examples.

The easiest mix-up is between Ukraine and Sweden. Ukraine's flag has stripes, and Sweden's has a cross.

Why are blue and yellow so common on flags?

Blue and yellow often stand for sky and sun, or sea and sand, which suits Pacific and Caribbean islands such as Nauru, Aruba and Curaçao. Ukraine's flag is commonly read as a blue sky above golden wheat fields. Sweden's colors come from the national coat of arms, which shows three gold crowns on a blue shield.

The yellow, blue and red flags of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela all descend from the tricolor used by Gran Colombia in the early 1800s. The vertical blue, yellow and red of Romania, Moldova, Chad and Andorra come from different histories, including the influence of the French tricolor.

Compare these with red, blue and yellow flags to see how they overlap.