State flag

The flag of Poland, having the state flag variant being charged with the coat of arms. In some jurisdictions or on certain occasions, the state flags are designated to be flown exclusively by governmental authorities and services and restricted from use by civilian and non-governmental parties. Inversely, many states and governments only have a single national flag, or do not have separate civil and state banners.

In vexillology, a state flag is either the flag of the government of a sovereign state (and can also be referred as a government flag and likely interchangeable with a national flag in certain scenarios), or the flag of an individual federated state (subnational administrative division).

Government flag

A state flag is a variant of a national flag (or occasionally a completely different design) specifically designated and restricted by law or custom (theoretically or actually) to use by a country's government or its agencies. For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as government flags. In many countries the state flag and the civil flag (as flown by the general public) are identical, but in other countries, notably those in Latin America, central Europe, and Scandinavia, the state flag is a more complex version of the national flag, often featuring the national coat of arms or some other emblem as part of the design. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to further differentiate them from civil flags.

In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by non-military government ships such as guard vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the Blue Ensign.

State flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organizations; these are referred to as war flags and naval ensigns.

National flags with separate state and civil versions

	Optional civil flag of Andorra
	State and civil flag of Andorra
	Optional civil flag of Argentina
	State and civil flag of Argentina
	Optional civil flag of Austria
	State flag of Austria
	De facto civil flag of Belgium (ratio 2:3)
	Official state and civil flag of Belgium (ratio 13:15)
	Civil flag of Bolivia
	State flag of Bolivia
	Civil flag of Costa Rica
	State flag of Costa Rica
	Civil flag of Denmark
	State flag of Denmark
	Civil flag of Dominican Republic
	State flag of Dominican Republic
	Civil flag of El Salvador
	State flag of El Salvador
	Alternative state flag of El Salvador
	Civil flag of Finland
	State flag of Finland
	Civil and alternative state flag of Germany
	State flag of Germany
	Unofficial flag of Germany
	Civil flag of Guatemala
	State flag of Guatemala
	Civil flag of Haiti
	State flag of Haiti
	State and civil flag of Hungary (ratio 1:2)
	Alternative civil flag of Hungary (ratio 2:3)
	Optional state flag of Hungary
	Civil flag of Iceland
	State flag of Iceland
	Civil flag of Italy
	State flag of Italy (maritime only)
	Civil flag of Liechtenstein
	State flag of Liechtenstein
	State and civil flag of Lithuania
	Historical state flag of Lithuania
	Civil flag of Monaco
	State flag of Monaco
	Civil and state flag of Nicaragua
	Alternative state flag of Nicaragua
	Civil flag of Nigeria
	State flag of Nigeria
	Civil flag of Norway
	State flag of Norway
	Civil flag of Palestine
	State flag of Palestine
	Civil flag of Peru
	State flag of Peru
	Civil flag of Poland
	State flag of Poland
	Civil flag of Romania
	Unofficial state flag of Romania
	Civil flag of San Marino
	State flag of San Marino
	Civil flag of Serbia
	State flag of Serbia
	Optional civil flag of Spain
	State and civil flag of Spain
	Optional civil flag of Transnistria (reverse)
	State and civil flag of Transnistria
	State and civil flag of Tuvalu
	Alternative state flag of Tuvalu
	Civil and state flag of Uruguay
	Alternative state flag of Uruguay (Artigas flag)
	Alternative state flag of Uruguay (Flag of the Treinta y Tres)
	Civil flag of Venezuela
	State flag of Venezuela

Flag of a federated state (subnational entity)

The state flag of Georgia being flown below the national flag of the United States.

In Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and some other federalized countries, the term state flag can have a different usage, as it frequently refers to an official flag of any of the individual states or territorial subdivisions that make up the nation.

To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would be more precisely referred to as "the flag of the state of X", rather than "the state flag of X". For this usage, see also:

• Flags of the Argentine provinces
• Flags of the Australian states
• Flags of the Austrian states
• Flags of the Brazilian states
• Flags of the Canadian provinces
• Flags of the German states
• Flags of the Malaysian states
• Flags of the Mexican states
• Flags of the Nigerian states
• Flags of Pakistani provinces and territories
• Flags of the U.S. states and territories

References

• Znamierowski, Alfred (2002). The world encyclopedia of flags: The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns. London: Hermes House. ISBN 1-84309-042-2.

External links

• Media related to Sovereign-state flags at Wikimedia Commons