25 Countries with Tricolor (Triband) Flags in 2024

Today, 25 countries of the world have tricolor or triband flags. We’ve researched them all for you and found pictures of each. There’s no way in the world you’ll guess what the bonus 26th one is!

1. Armenia

The Armenian flag has horizontal bands of red, blue, and yellow. They are said to represent the characteristics of the land and people of Armenia.

Find out more about the Armenian flag.

2. Austria

The flag of Austria has horizontal bands of red, white, and red. Legend has it that the 12th century Duke Leopold V of Austria wore a white coat into battle. After intense fighting, his coat was drenched in blood, but a white band was left where he took his belt off. This became the inspiration for the Austrian flag.

Find out more about the Austrian flag.

3. Belgium

The flag of Belgium is a triband of black, yellow, and red. The colors are believed to represent the country’s coat of arms, which features a golden lion on a black field. The colors are also said to represent the three regions of Belgium.

Find out more about the Belgian flag.

4. Benin

The flag of Benin has a vertical band of green and horizontal bands of yellow and red. These are said to represent the country’s agriculture, mineral wealth, and the blood of its people.

Find out more about the flag of Benin.

5. Bulgaria

The white, green, and red flag of Bulgaria represents peace, agricultural prosperity, and the courage of the Bulgarian people.

Find out more about the Bulgarian flag.

6. Canada

The maple leaf flag of Canada is not a tricolor flag, as it only consists of red and white. But it is a triband flag. The red of the flag represents the bravery and valor of the Canadian people, while the white represents peace and purity. The maple leaf is a symbol associated with the country’s beautiful deciduous forests and maple syrup, one of its world-famous products.

Find out more about the Canadian flag.

7. Croatia

Croatia has a flag with three horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue. These are said to represent the sacrifices of the Croatian people, peace and purity, and the Adriatic Sea. The symbols in the center of the flag recall the coats of arms of Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia.

Find out more about the Croatian flag.

8. Ecuador

The three colors of the flag of Ecuador stand for the country’s abundant natural resources, the sea, and the blood of its people. In the center is the Ecuadorian coat of arms.

Find out more about the flag of Ecuador.

9. France

The flag of France, also known as the French Tricolor, has inspired many other world flags. The colors have been interpreted both as historical holdovers from regions of France as well as the three estates of pre-revolutionary France.

Find out more about the French flag.

10. The Gambia

In Gambia’s flag, red stands for the African sun, blue: the river Gambia, and green: the country’s lush natural resources and agriculture. The five-pointed star in the center of the blue band stands for the unity of the country’s people.

Find out more about the flag of The Gambia.

11. Germany

The modern flag of Germany is a tricolor consisting of three equal horizontal bands of black, red, and gold. The colors were inspired by the colors of the Holy Roman Empire, which included much of modern-day Germany.

Find out more about the German flag.

12. Hungary

The colors of the flag of Hungary have a long history dating back to the Middle Ages. Red represents its struggle for freedom, white is for purity, and green is a reminder of the country’s natural beauty.

Find out more about the Hungarian flag.

13. India

In the flag of India, saffron represents courage, sacrifice, and the spirit of renunciation; white represents purity and truth; and green represents faith and fertility. In the center is the Asoka Chakra, a 24-point star that symbolizes the eternal wheel of dharma, a Hindu concept.

Find out more about the flag of India.

14. Ireland

The flag of Ireland is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and orange. Green represents the Irish nationalist movement. Orange represents the minority Protestant community. White represents hope for peace and reconciliation between the two communities.

Find out more about the Irish flag.

15. Italy

The flag of Italy is a tricolor consisting of three equal vertical bands of green, white, and red. These colors represent, respectively, the country’s natural beauty, peace and purity, and the sacrifices of the Italian people.

Find out more about the Italian flag.

16. Madagascar

The flag of Madagascar is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and red. The green of the flag stands for the country’s natural environment and its agriculture, while the white represents purity and justice. The red color symbolizes the country’s struggle for independence and the sacrifices made by its people.

Find out more about the flag of Madagascar.

17. Mexico

In the flag of Mexico, green represents the country’s independence and hope for the future, while white represents the Roman Catholic religion and the purity of the Mexican people. Red symbolizes the blood of the Mexican people and their sacrifices in the fight for independence.

Find out more about the Mexican flag.

18. Namibia

The flag of Namibia uses the color blue to represent the sky and the ocean; red represents the blood of its people, and green stands for the natural environment.

Find out more about the Namibian flag.

19. Nigeria

The flag of Nigeria was selected after a national design competition in 1959. The green represents the country’s natural environment and its abundant vegetation and white represents peace and unity.

Find out more about the Nigerian flag.

20. Netherlands

The flag of the Netherlands uses the common colors of red, white, and blue, but they have a different meaning than in other countries. Red and blue are the colors of the Burgundy dynasty and the House of Nassau, respectively, which both played a significant role in the country’s history. As the Netherlands is on the North Sea and has numerous waterways, blue represents the water that is the lifeblood of the country.

Find out more about the Dutch flag.

21. Oman

The flag of Oman is a horizontal tricolor of green, white, and red. Green is the signature color of Islam, which is the dominant religion in Oman; white stands for peace and purity; red commemorates the country’s sacrifices for its independence.

Find out more about the flag of Oman.

22. Peru

The flag of Peru uses the color red to commemorate the country’s martyrs and white represents peace and purity. The state flag has the coat of arms in the center but the civil flag removes this feature to create a plain red and white triband.

Find out more about the Peruvian flag.

23. Romania

Symbolically, the Romanian flag uses blue to represent the sky, yellow for fields of wheat, and red for the blood of its people. A socialist symbol was added to the flag under communist rule, but this was removed after the 1989 revolution brought a democratic government to power.

Find out more about the Romanian flag.

24. Russia

The flag of Russia is a red-white-blue tricolor first used by the country’s navy in 1705. The colors are said to represent the three classes of Russian society: the nobility, the clergy, and the common people. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation restored the tricolor as the national flag.

Find out more about the Russian flag.

25. Serbia

The flag of Serbia was adopted in 2003 following the breakup of Yugoslavia. Red represents the blood of the Serbian people; blue stands for hope and clear skies; and white is a color traditionally associated with peace and purity.

Find out more about the Serbian flag.

Bonus: A Flag for Mars?

Human beings have not yet set foot on Mars but already we’re dreaming of it. In 1999 a NASA engineer, Pascal Lee, proposed a Flag of Mars with vertical bands of red, green, and blue. These colors represent a future three-stage process of terraforming the planet into an earth-like environment. The idea is that Mars would be transformed from a red planet to one starting to be covered with vegetation, to one with vast oceans like Earth. So it seems like tricolor flags are here to stay in our world, and maybe in future worlds as well.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Philipp Dase/Shutterstock.com