Tricolor Flags

What is a tricolor?

A tricolor is a flag made of three bands of equal or similar size in three colors. The idea is old: the Netherlands used an orange, white and blue flag in the 16th century, and today's red, white and blue version is one of the oldest national flags in use. The French flag of 1794 made the vertical tricolor a symbol of republics and liberty, and many later flags copied it.

Horizontal and vertical tricolors

• Horizontal: Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt.
• Vertical: France, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Romania, Mexico, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Peru.

Several designs include an emblem on the central band: Mexico has an eagle, Egypt has a golden eagle, Syria has two green stars and Iran has its national emblem.

Tricolor families

Many tricolors belong to families. The Pan-African colors green, yellow and red inspired the flags of Ethiopia, Mali, Senegal, Guinea and Cameroon. The Pan-Arab colors, red, white, black and green, appear in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Jordan. The Pan-Slavic colors are white, blue and red, as seen on Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela all recall Francisco de Miranda's yellow, blue and red flag.

The three-band format is easy to draw and easy to recognize from far away, which explains why it spread so fast. It is also easy to confuse: a flag that looks like another may be only a few shades or a stripe order away. Check the proportions and look for any emblem in the center before you guess. Ask which way the stripes run, which color is first, and whether the flag has a badge on it.

Germany's black, red and gold go back to the 19th century liberal movement. Italy's tricolor of green, white and red dates from 1797, and Ireland's from 1848.