Countries with Red, White, and Green Flags 2024

As of 2023, countries whose flags use the colors red, white, and green include twelve member states of the United Nations and one constituent state. All of these flags feature red, white, and green as their principal colors. One country, Mexico, also adorns its flag with its national coat of arms, a unique eagle-on-a-cactus emblem that includes a small amount of turquoise, gold, and brown, but is still considered a red, green, and white flag.

Algeria

The flag of Algeria features a red crescent moon and star in its center, with a vertically split background of green on the left and white on the right. The star and moon are important Islamic symbols and are prominently figured on the flags of many Muslim countries.

Belarus

The Belarusian flag is composed of three stripes, one of which is quite unusual. The first stripe is horizontal and green and takes up most of the bottom 1/3 of the flag. Above that is a massive red stripe, also horizontal, that takes up most of the remaining 2/3 of the flag. Then comes the distinct third stripe, which runs vertically along the flag's flagpole (hoist) edge and features an intricate pattern of red diamonds on a white background. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in 2013 that the color green stood for life and red for the freedom and the sacrifices Belarusans had to make to obtain it. This explanation is unofficial, but also appears to be undisputed.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria's flag was adopted in 1998, but is actually a return to a red, white, and green flag design originally adopted in 1877. The flag features three horizontal stripes, each 1/3 the height of the flag: White on top, green in the middle, and red on the bottom. Earlier now-retired variations of the Bulgarian flag often followed a similar design, but added the country's coat of arms in the upper left.

Burundi

Adopted in the 1960s, the flag of Burundi features two thin white stripes that run diagonally from corner to corner, dividing the background into four triangles of either red (on the top and bottom) or green (on the edges). The tips of each triangle would meet in the flag's center, but are obscured by a white circle, into which is placed a triangular cluster of three red, six-pointed stars outlined in green.

Several elements of the Burundi flag are symbolic. The stars have three meanings. First, they represent Burundi's three ethnic groups, the Hutu, Twa, and Tutsi. Secondly, they stand for Burundi's motto: Unité, Travail, Progrès (Unity, Work, and Progress). Finally, they symbolize the Burundis' loyalty to God, king, and country. The colors also have meanings: White symbolizes peace, green stands for hope for the future, and red represents the suffering and sacrifice it took to achieve freedom.

Hungary

Similar to the flags of Bulgaria (above) and Iran (below), the flag of Hungary is a simple stack of three equally-sized horizontal stripes. Red occupies the top spot and symbolizes strength. White rests in the middle and represents faithfulness. Green takes up the bottom slot and symbolizes hope.

Iran

The flag of Iran bears a strong resemblance to the flags of Hungary and Bulgaria, which three horizontal stripes of equal size stacked atop one another. However, Iran's flag features two flourishes that both reinforce its Muslim-majority faith and set it apart from its contemporaries. The first is white Kufic text that runs along the borders where the central white stripe (which represents peace) meets the upper green (representing Islam) and lower red (representing courage) stripes and repeatedly professes the takbir, an Arabic phrase which means "God is the greatest". This text makes Iran's flag one of very few in the world that is not reversible, as it can only be correctly read in one direction.

Moreover, the center of the Iranian flag is occupied by the Nishan Rasmi, Iran's national symbol, which represents self-sacrifice and patriotism and takes the shape of a downward-pointing sword framed by two vertical crescents on each side.

Italy

A European country with more than 60 million residents, Italy features one of the world's simplest and most recognizable flags. The Italian flag features three vertical stripes, each 1/3 the width of the flag. The green stripe comes first, placed along the left/"hoist" edge. The white stripe takes up the center spot, and the red stripe is positioned at the rightmost/"fly" end. Known as the tricolor, the Italian flag has been Italy's official flag for longer than the country has existed: While modern Italy was established with the country's unification in 1861, a variation of the country's red-green-white tricolor was actually officially adopted by the region's Cispadane Republic in 1797.

Lebanon

Lebanon's red, white, and green flag features two red horizontal stripes, one across the top and one across the bottom, each 1/4 of the flag's total height, with a double-thick white stripe between the two. These stripes frame a stylized cedar tree, rendered in green and positioned in the center of the white stripe. The cedars of Lebanon are mentioned 77 times in the Bible and hold great significance to the country's people. The Lebanese flag is the only national flag to prominently feature a tree. The colors of the flag's stripes have symbolic value as well. White symbolizes snow, peace, and purity; and red represents the blood of those who have fallen while defending the county.

Madagascar

While most country flags feature either horizontal or vertical stripes, the flag of Madagascar features both vertical and horizontal stripes. A white vertical stripe roughly 1/3 the flag's width occupies the left/hoist edge, while two horizontal stripes, one in red atop one in green, take up the remaining 2/3 of the flag's area. An island country off the coast of [East Africa](/country-rankings/east-african-countries, Madagascar also features one of the most unique ecosystems in the world thanks to its isolated location.

Maldives

Located off the southern coast of India, the island country of Maldives is home to fewer than 1 million people, but has one of the most unique red, white, and green flags in the world. The flag of Maldives features a red background field upon which is centered a green rectangle and a slender white crescent moon. The moon and its color both symbolize the Islamic faith, while green symbolizes peace and prosperity and red the blood of those who have sacrificed for the sake of their country.

Mexico

Mexico's iconic flag utilizes equally-sized vertical stripes of green (left/hoist edge), white (center), and red (right/fly edge) in a style very similar to the Italian flag. However, the Mexican flag uses a darker green and places its national coat of arms in the center of the white stripe. This unmistakable icon, which depicts an eagle perched upon a cactus and holding a serpent, makes the Mexican flag the only red, white, and green flag to incorporate trace amounts of additional colors such as green, gold, and brown. The coat or arms is a reference to a famous legend in which the Aztecs, seeking a site to found their capital city Tenochtitlan, were sent as a signal an eagle perched on a cactus and holding a snake. Tenochtitlan would eventually evolve into Mexico City, the country's capital.

Oman

The flag of the Middle-Eastern country Oman matches stacked horizontal stripes of green (bottom), red (middle), and white (top) with a vertical red stripe on the left/hoist edge and an intricate white emblem in the upper left corner. Titled the Khanjar Bo Sayfain, the emblem displays two sheathed daggers crossed in an X-shape behind a sheathed khanjar dagger. The colors of the flag of Oman carry both official and unofficial symbolic value. Officially, the color white stands for peace, green stands for the land's fertility, and red stands for the blood shed to ward off invaders. Unofficially, white may be considered to stand for Oman's Imam (religious leader) and green to represent the mountains in the country's northern region.

Wales

The only non-sovereign nation with a red, white, and green flag, Wales is technically part of the United Kingdom, which also includes England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Wales is also one of three countries with a dragon flag. The Welsh flag features a red, winged dragon with four legs and a spiked tongue and tail, on a background composed of two massive horizontal stripes, green on the bottom and white on top. Although this particular flag was adopted in 1959, the use of a red dragon to symbolize Wales dates back to at least 655 AD.