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Which countries have the best and worst flags?
Virginia Postrel directs us to this more-revealing-than-you-might-think question. Look here. But I cannot fathom their decision to rank the Gambian flag number one. My personal favorites have long been Brazil ("Order and Progress", maybe you have to have been there) and Haiti, in part for the story of how they took out the white from the flag of France. Japan and Switzerland are good too, iconic you might say. The moon and star in the Turkish flag for a long time seemed cool to me.
Here are the losers, they are the most fun to look at. The flag of Mozambique, with its AK-47, might come in last place. The Falkland Islands flag is another lemon.
Here are the research papers of the Otago guy who evaluated the flags. Here's the guy's grading system for the flags.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on January 14, 2008 at 07:47 AM in Political Science | Permalink
Comments
There is something wrong with the grading system. Some flags are very similar and grade very differently. I am from Argentina and I am surprised how high it ranked, especially when you see flags with almost identical colors and design to the Argentinean flag at the bottom of the ranking.
Posted by: londenio at Jan 14, 2008 8:30:15 AM
The Isle of Man has always been my personal favorite. I also like Nepal, if only for its shape.
Posted by: Ned at Jan 14, 2008 8:31:37 AM
My personal favorite flag is that of the Marshall Islands, closely followed by Nauru, the Seychelles, and Macao... but yeah, trying to bolster personal preferences with supposedly objective methodology has a tendency to backfire...
Posted by: Michael Fisk at Jan 14, 2008 8:43:13 AM
How can you diss the Mozambique flag?
The Green stands for the riches of the soil, the Black for the African continent, the Yellow for mineral riches, White for peace, Red for struggle for independence, and the crossed hoe / AK-47 says that the farmers will fuck you up if you mess with them.
Posted by: Richard Campbell at Jan 14, 2008 8:55:21 AM
I always thought the oldest and simplest flags were the best: the tricolors, and of course the Nordic crosses.
Posted by: odograph at Jan 14, 2008 9:22:41 AM
Above all, I'll put the South African flag...But as an haitian,I can't believe how Haiti's name pop up again on this blog.
You seem to know a bit about haitian history...Definitely you must have a connection with this country. Any toughts on
Haïti's economic problems? I'd really like to hear you on that subject.
Posted by: Carl-Henri at Jan 14, 2008 9:25:07 AM
Chad and Romania have the same exact flag, but different grades (B- vs. B).
Posted by: sd at Jan 14, 2008 9:25:51 AM
For me East-Timor comes first, Bosnia last.
Posted by: Marcel at Jan 14, 2008 9:32:47 AM
Check this out:
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/11/07/trivia-nepalese-flag/
Posted by: Chris Meisenzahl at Jan 14, 2008 9:57:12 AM
South Africa, definitely. It captures both the African and European traditions and melds them together beautifully... a wonderful metaphor.
Posted by: Rich at Jan 14, 2008 10:05:05 AM
I don't like the way the site accused the Norfolk Islands flag of being a ripoff of Canada's. It shows a Norfolk Island Pine, a species that is found nowhere else in the world and symbolizes the island.
Posted by: Peter at Jan 14, 2008 10:26:31 AM
Then there's the flag of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo, supposedly the only one in the world to incorporate the color pink.
Posted by: at Jan 14, 2008 10:44:45 AM
I like Greece and Brazil. Also Wales, with its dragon. Most US states have unimaginative flags.
Posted by: Clay B at Jan 14, 2008 10:45:16 AM
I call hogwash on the methodology. The Canadian maple leaf is labelled as a 'graven image' violating rule 2b, yet the star and crescent of the Pakistani and Turkish flags is not labelled as such.
Peter: How would one know that the tree in the Norfolk Island flag is specifically a Norfolk Island Pine? To the casual observer it looks like any other pine tree found throughout the world.
Posted by: Vincent Clement at Jan 14, 2008 10:51:40 AM
I'm surprised Libya didn't score higher. You can't get much simpler than one natural color with nothing on it
Posted by: Robert Olson at Jan 14, 2008 11:04:01 AM
Peter: How would one know that the tree in the Norfolk Island flag is specifically a Norfolk Island Pine? To the casual observer it looks like any other pine tree found throughout the world.
Per Wikipedia:
The Norfolk Island pine, a symbol of the island pictured in its flag, is a striking evergreen tree native to the island and is quite popular in Australia, where two related species also grow.
Posted by: Peter at Jan 14, 2008 11:11:54 AM
Oh, that's too bad. I've always liked Turkmenistan's flag with a Persian carpet on it.
Also, Clay B. you should check out Virginia's awesome state flag. Some sort of Virginian yeowoman or something standing triumphant over a fallen tyrant, with state motto: Sic Semper Tyrranis.
Posted by: Thelonious_Nick at Jan 14, 2008 11:48:14 AM
I nominate Maryland's flag as astonishingly awful. Yes, I know it's a state, not a country, but if you look at local flags, you can have some fun.
And I don't know why he finds the colors of the Israeli flag irritating.
Posted by: Nancy Lebovitz at Jan 14, 2008 12:08:22 PM
Also, Clay B. you should check out Virginia's awesome state flag. Some sort of Virginian yeowoman or something standing triumphant over a fallen tyrant, with state motto: Sic Semper Tyrranis.
Actually it's a warrior woman, Virtue, with one boob exposed. How's that for cool? How many flags feature nudity while simultaneously promoting violence?
Posted by: Christina at Jan 14, 2008 12:23:11 PM
I would have rated distinctiveness as an important criteria. Even if a flag is ugly, it might function well. Considering how much he rails against the tricolor, too many of them get B's. If I have to figure out what order the colors are in when deciding whether or not to shoot at your boat, you're flag is not working well.
High marks for the Scandinavian flags that use only two colors, and the same design, but are unmistakable. But I think I like South Africa best.
Posted by: efp at Jan 14, 2008 12:26:01 PM
I give a nod to the Union Jack, Stars and Stripes, Japanese, Swiss, and Canadian flags -- distinctive, attractive, clean.
Posted by: gunther at Jan 14, 2008 12:30:14 PM
Go Gambia!!!
Tyler, don't diss the Gambian flag. This is one of the few contests where we shine. Please don't take it away from us.
Posted by: A Proud Gambain at Jan 14, 2008 12:40:14 PM
Bhutan's flag is so good that it convinced me to look up Bhutan in Wikipedia, but this guy rates it poorly. His "graven images" rule is just silly.
Posted by: Some Random Economist at Jan 14, 2008 12:45:21 PM
Japan and South Africa.
Posted by: Mike Jenkins at Jan 14, 2008 1:01:25 PM
I think his graven images rule is spot-on: flags should be iconic, not pictures. Same reasoning for the maps rule and the writing rule.
I think the reason he railed against the tricolor yet rated many of them well is the tricolor is a pleasant design - it's just overused.
And, relatedly, I think the reason he rated Gambia highest is that it is one of those pleasing tricolors, yet the white dividing lines make it distinctive - and it is iconic, representing the map of the country without actually being a map.
And I agree that the NI flag is a Canada rip-off. :P
Posted by: Bob Montgomery at Jan 14, 2008 1:17:39 PM
