How many country flags can you identify without
looking them up? Well, you most definitely know this one and
this one, but what about these two here? When I say “two” I really mean it – some
countries have flags so similar they will give even a geography fan a hard time. New Zealand and Australia Let’s start down under. It’s understandable Australia and New Zealand
have a lot in common, but their flags just look way too similar. Both of them are essentially a blue field
with Union Jack to represent their British colonial past in the top inner corner. This canvas is called the British Blue Ensign. The difference between the two flags is in
the shades of blues and reds and the stars. Flag of New Zealand has four of them representing
the Southern Cross constellation. Flag of Australia has the same constellation
but pictured in 5 stars and an extra larger star that is called a Commonwealth or Federation
star. Indonesia and Monaco In contrast to the previous pair of countries,
these two have basically nothing that brings them together, except for their almost identical
flags. Both are hundreds years old and both are essentially
two horizontal stripes in red and white. Flag of Monaco is using the heraldic colors
of the shield of Monegasque (that’s a fancy way of saying “related to Monaco”) royal
family arms. The flag of Indonesia is a reminder of those
times when it was associated with the Majapahit Empire. White and red in it symbolize duality of nature. The only difference between the two flags
is that Indonesian is longer. And, here comes a plot twist: if you turn
any of these two flags upside down, you’ll see the flag of Poland with a white stripe
over a red stripe. Venezuela, Colombia, Equador In 1822, the newly created country of Gran
Colombia made its national flag a canvas of three unequal horizontal stripes in yellow,
blue and red. And even though that state existed only for
8 years, its legacy lives on in the flags of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador that have
made it the basis for their individual flags. Flag of Venezuela has stripes equal in size,
an arc of stars in the middle and the national coat of arms in the upper hoist corner. The flag of Ecuador also features the national
coat of arms, except it’s right in the middle. Stripes in the flags of Colombia and Ecuador
are of different width and yellow is the largest of them. Nicaragua and Honduras Both of these flags are based on the flag
of the United Provinces of Central America, a country that existed in the 19 century. Honduras adopted its official flag in 1866. It has five stars against the white background
of its central horizontal stripes. They stand for five original Central American
provinces of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador. It’s interesting that the flag of Nicaragua
has the same symbolism, except it has five volcanoes instead of five stars. The blue stripes on both flags stand for the
Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Norway and Iceland Both of these Nordic countries have derived
their flag from their peer – Denmark. So both feature a white Scandinavian cross
and a color combination of red and blue. Red is the dominant color of the Norwegian
flag and the cross is white-bordered. The flag of Iceland has way more of blue and
a red cross that’s also white-bordered. Luxembourg and Netherlands The red, white and blue tricolor has been
the official Dutch flag since mid-17th century. So it’s easily one of the oldest flags in
the world that later inspired other famous tricolors, such as those of France and Russia. Until that time, the upper stripe used to
be orange, the color of Dutch royalty. Flag of Luxembourg didn’t stem from its
neighbor, but developed on its own. The two banners differ in the shades of blue
and their ratio: 2:3 for Netherlands and 3:5 for Luxembourg. Tunisia and Turkey The Turkish flag as we know it today with
a white star and a crescent was adopted in the 19 century and derived from the flag of
Ottoman Empire. Back around the same time, Tunisia was also
part of the Ottoman Empire but it had some commercial independence. So the ruler of the country Hussein Bey II
had a hard time picking a flag that would look like the Ottoman one but not be identical. He didn’t want his ships to be confused
with Ottoman ships and be attacked by countries they had peace treaties with. So, the modern flag of Tunisia has been around
since 1827 and looks very much like the Turkish flag. Egypt, Iraq, Yemen All of these countries’ flags are based
on Arab Liberation Flag of 1952. It consisted of three equal horizontal stripes
of red, white and black. The red stands for unity and blood shred in
the name of revolution, white symbolizes a bright future, and black stands for the dark
past. The modern flag of Yemen is basically the
Arab Liberation Flag, and the flags of Egypt and Iraq have their own symbolism added. The Egyptian flag features its national emblem,
the eagle of Saladin, right in the middle. The current version of the flag of Iraq was
adopted in 2008 when changed were made to the symbols in green in the center of it. Bahrain and Qatar Flags of Bahrain and Qatar are often mistaken
for one another, but local people will assure you they are completely different. First of all, the Bahraini flag is white and
red, and the flag of Qatar is white and maroon. Second, the latter has nine white points that
symbolize that Qatar became the 9th member of the “reconciled Emirates” of the Persian
Gulf in 1916. The flag of Bahrain has five white points
that symbolize the Five Pillars of Islam. Samoa and Taiwan The UN has proclaimed the official flag of
Samoa in 1949. It is a red field that has a blue rectangle
in the upper corner. It features the Southern Cross constellation
with four large stars and one smaller star. Taiwan has the flag of the Republic of China
for its national banner. It’s also a red field with blue in the upper
corner. You can also see a white disc that stand for
the Sun with twelve triangles or rays around it in the blue field. Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia The Russian tricolor inspired by the Dutch
flag was used on merchant ships and as a national flag since 1696. It was replaced during the Soviet times and
re-introduced in 1991 in the 1:2 ratio. The Russian tricolor became the inspiration
for flags of many countries in eastern and southern Europe. The 2 big differences between the flags of
Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia are the length (Russian flag is shorter) and the fact that
the both Slovakia and Slovenia have their coat of arms proudly set in the middle of
their tricolors. Croatia and Paraguay It seems like there is hardly any connection
between these two states geographically so wide apart. Yet, they both have a tricolor in the same
order of colors as their national banner. Croatian flag also has a shield in the middle
with a crown made up of five ancient coats of arms of Croatia and its regions: Dubrovnik,
Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia. The flag of Paraguay bears the colors of the
French tricolor, since many historians believe independence movements in Latin America were
inspired by the French Revolution. And since you already know the French flag
is a variation of the Dutch tricolor, they do have some common history with Croatian
flag after all. One unique thing about the flag of Paraguay
is that it’s double-sided with the national coat of arms on the obverse and the seal of
the treasury on the reverse. Ireland and India Have you ever noticed flags of Ireland and
India are of exactly the same colors? Now you have, you’re welcome! In the case with Ireland, the green, white
and orange symbolize peace between Roman Catholics and Protestants everyone was so hoping for
in the 19th century when the flag was adopted. White in this case is the color of truce. As for the Indian flag, orange in it stands
for courage and sacrifice, white – for peace and truth, and green – for faith and chivalry. There is also a 24-spoke wheel in the middle
that’s called Ashoka Chakra. And now, prepare to be amazed because there’s
no other pair of flags in the world that look this much alike! Romania and Chad It takes a real flag expert to spot any differences
between the flags or Romania and Chad. That difference is in the slight variations
of shades between the blue, yellow, and red vertical stripes. The two flags have totally different origins. The modern version of the Romanian flag was
adopted in 1861 after a few variations to the previous versions. Chad got its banner in 1960 when it had received
independence from France. In the first version there was a green stripe
but it looked too much like the flag of Mali, so they added a blue stripe instead. Can you think of any other flags that look
alike? Let me know in the comment section below! Don't forget to give this video a like, share
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