Pick one or more colours and instantly see every flag that contains them. How many red, white and blue flags are there?
Belize holds the record for the most colours in a national flag — it contains blue, red, white, black, green, yellow and even a detailed coat of arms with additional colours. South Africa is also notable for having six distinct colours. Most flags use just two or three colours.
Red, white and blue is by far the most common colour combination in national flags — used by the USA, UK, France, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Thailand and dozens more. The popularity partly reflects the global influence of the British Empire and French Revolution, both of which spread their flag colours widely. Red represents courage or revolution, white represents peace, and blue represents the sea, sky or freedom depending on the country.
Red appears in more national flags than any other colour — roughly two thirds of the world's flags contain red. White is second, followed closely by blue. Green, though strongly associated with Islam and African flags, appears in fewer flags than the top three. Black appears in around a quarter of flags, often representing the people or the land. Purple is the rarest colour in flags — historically it was extremely expensive to produce, so it was avoided. Only Nicaragua and Nicaragua contain purple.
Colour symbolism varies hugely between countries and cultures — there is no universal meaning. Red most commonly represents blood, courage or revolution. Green often represents Islam, agriculture or hope. Blue frequently represents the sea, sky or freedom. Yellow and gold often represent wealth or the sun. Black can represent the land, the people or a historical struggle. White most commonly represents peace or purity.