Flags With a Triangle

What does a triangle mean on a flag?

A triangle at the hoist often stands for unity, strength or equality. In the Arab world, the triangle goes back to the 1916 Arab Revolt flag. It is seen on the flags of Jordan, Palestine and Western Sahara in red, and on Sudan in green. Kuwait's black shape is actually a trapezoid.

Elsewhere the triangle can show a country's values: Cuba's red triangle stands for blood and bravery, with a white star for freedom. The Philippines uses a white triangle for equality, with a sun and three stars.

Notable flags with a triangle

• Czech Republic: a blue triangle between white and red stripes.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: a yellow triangle on blue with white stars.
• Bahamas: a black triangle on aquamarine and gold stripes.
• Guyana: the Golden Arrowhead, a gold triangle with a red triangle inside it, on green.
• South Africa: a Y-shaped band with a black triangle at the hoist.
• Zimbabwe: a white triangle with a red star and a bird.
• East Timor: a black triangle over a yellow one, with a white star.
• Djibouti: a white triangle with a red star.
• Eritrea: a red triangle with a gold olive wreath.
• Equatorial Guinea and Puerto Rico: a blue triangle on the left.
• Bhutan: two diagonal triangles in yellow and orange.
• Antigua and Barbuda: a V-shaped design with a rising sun on black.
• Vanuatu: a black triangle with a yellow Y.

Facts about triangle flags

Triangle flags are easy to recognize even at small sizes, which is one reason designers like them. The black, white and green stripes with a red triangle appear on both Jordan and Palestine, and the colors stand for the Abbasid, Umayyad and Fatimid caliphates and the Hashemites. The Czech blue triangle was added to the flag in 1920 to tell it apart from Poland's flag, and the blue comes from the arms of Moravia and Slovakia.