Red, White and Green Flags

Which countries have red, white and green flags?

Europe has three horizontal or vertical tricolors. Italy has vertical green, white and red bands with no emblem. Hungary has horizontal red, white and green. Bulgaria has white, green and red, which is Hungary's order with the green and white swapped. Mexico looks like Italy but adds an eagle on a cactus in the white band, and its bands are slightly different in shade.

In the Middle East and Asia, Iran has green, white and red stripes with an emblem and a repeated inscription along the stripe edges. Lebanon has red, white and red with a green cedar tree in the middle. Oman has a white stripe, a red stripe and a green stripe with a national emblem in the corner. Tajikistan has red, white and green bands with a crown and stars in the white stripe.

In Africa, Algeria is split vertically into green and white with a red crescent and star. Burundi has a white saltire dividing the flag into red and green fields, with three red stars in a white circle. Madagascar has a white vertical stripe on the hoist and red and green horizontal stripes on the right. South America adds Suriname, with horizontal bands of green, white and red.

Why are red, white and green so common on flags?

The Italian tricolor, first used in the 1790s, was modeled on the French flag, with green replacing blue. Mexico's flag, adopted at independence in 1821, uses the same colors and was influenced by Italian and French designs. Hungary's red, white and green came from its coat of arms and became the national tricolor in the 1848 revolution.

Bulgaria's white, green and red follow the Pan-Slavic tradition of tricolors. In the Muslim world, green is a color closely tied to Islam, which helps explain Iran, Algeria and Oman. Red and white are old, simple heraldic colors, and green brings strong contrast, so the trio works well for flags that must be seen from a distance.