Flags With a Map

Why put a map on a flag?

A map on a flag points directly to a territory, which makes it a clear choice for places where borders are sensitive or the identity is new. It is a way to avoid ethnic or religious symbols and keep the design neutral.

The flags with a map

• Cyprus: a copper-orange silhouette of the island over two crossed olive branches on a white field. The copper recalls the metal that gave the island its name, and the olive branches stand for peace between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The flag was made without the colors of either Greece or Turkey.
• Kosovo: a gold map of the country on blue, under an arc of six white stars. The stars stand for the main ethnic groups. The flag was adopted when Kosovo declared independence in 2008 and avoids the red and black of Albania or the colors of Serbia.
• Christmas Island: a flag that shows a gold map of the island among its symbols, together with the Southern Cross and a golden bosun bird.
• Antarctica: it has no government and no official flag, so the unofficial designs usually show the continent's outline in white on blue.

Facts about map flags

Maps are hard to draw by hand and hard to read when the flag is small, so most countries avoid them. Cyprus and Kosovo both chose a map because the designers wanted a symbol that was not tied to a single ethnic group.

Bangladesh also had a map on its first flag in 1971, but it was removed a year later. Today the four flags on this page are the only ones in our collection where a map is the main symbol.

Outside this list, you will see maps more often on unofficial flags used by regions and movements, where the shape of the territory is the whole message. If you are looking for flags with lines instead, try the pages for flags with stripes.