Blue, White and Green Flags

Which countries have blue, white and green flags?

Sierra Leone is a horizontal tricolor of green, white and blue, from top to bottom. The green stands for agriculture and mountains, white for unity and justice, and blue for the natural harbor at Freetown. Lesotho has three horizontal bands in blue, white and green, with a traditional Basotho hat, the mokorotlo, in the white stripe. Its colors stand for rain, peace and prosperity.

Other flags with these colors add more. Uzbekistan has blue, white and green stripes separated by thin red lines, with a white crescent and twelve stars at the top left. Gambia uses red at the center, edged in white, between blue and green bands for the river. The British Virgin Islands, Pitcairn Islands and the Seychelles carry green and blue in different designs. Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, the Central African Republic and South Africa also contain all three colors.

Why are blue, white and green flags uncommon?

Blue and green are both cool colors, and designers tend to put a warm color such as red or yellow between them. Many flags avoid placing blue and green directly next to each other for that reason, and the few that do, like Sierra Leone, often use white as a divider.

When both appear, blue usually refers to water, such as the sea, a river or a lake, and green refers to farmland, forests or Islam. Both Lesotho and Sierra Leone use them in a straightforward way: sky or sea, plus land. White often means peace, which is why it appears in the middle of both flags.

How can you tell these flags apart?

Sierra Leone runs green, white, blue from top to bottom, and Lesotho runs blue, white, green. They are close to mirror images, so check the top stripe. If you see a crescent and stars, it is Uzbekistan. A red center stripe between blue and green is Gambia. Use the grid above to compare them.