Flags With Text

Why do some flags have writing?

Writing on a flag is rare, because it can be hard to read from a distance and makes the flag hard to reproduce. When it does appear, it is usually a national motto or a religious phrase. Flag experts often advise against text on flags for that reason, but a handful of countries chose to include it as a mark of identity.

Flags with text

• Saudi Arabia: the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith, in white Arabic script over a sword on green.
• Afghanistan: the shahada in black on a white field.
• Iran: "Allahu Akbar" written 22 times in Kufic script along the edges of the green and red stripes, with the emblem in the center.
• Iraq: "Allahu Akbar" in green Kufic script on the white stripe.
• Brazil: "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress) on a band across the blue globe.
• Haiti: "L'Union Fait la Force" ("Unity makes strength") on a ribbon in the arms.
• Belize: the motto "Sub Umbra Floreo", "Under the shade I flourish", around the arms.
• US Virgin Islands: the letters V and I on either side of the shield.
• French Southern Territories: the initials TAAF in the canton.
• Mayotte: its local flag carries the motto "Ra Hachiri" under the arms.

Notes

The Islamic statement of faith makes the Saudi flag unusual: because it carries the shahada, it is never flown at half-mast. To keep the Arabic script readable, the flag is made so that the text reads the right way round from either side.

Mottos on other flags are usually short. Brazil's "Ordem e Progresso" comes from the positivist philosophy of the 19th century, and Haiti's "L'Union Fait la Force" is a call for national unity. Letters can also be a signature, as with the initials V and I on the flag of the US Virgin Islands. Compare these with flags that use stars or crescents, which can be understood in any language.