National Flags of the countries of Asia.

Afghanistan, a proud nation was always caught as a buffer state -in the 19th century between the British and Czarist Russia , in the 21st between the Soviet Union, the US, and fundamentalist forces.

Armenia was for centuries a small part of the Ottoman empire until 1918. Brief independance followed before Armenia was swallowed by the former USSR, becoming a Soviet republic in 1922.

During the Soviet era the Armenian national flag was forbidden to be flown, but it returned in 1991 as the flag of the Republic of Armenia.

The Bangledeshi flag was adopted in 1971 when the country gained independence from Pakistan.

The previous flag showed the outline of the country in yellow, on a red disc.that was used throughout their struggle for independence, but when the new state was formally established in 1971, the yellow outline map was dropped.

Bhutan is a Buddhist state where the power is shared by the King and government. The country's name in the local dialect means 'Land of the Dragon'.

In about 1200, a monastery was set up called the Druk (Thunder Dragon), with the sect called the Drukpas named after it. The name and the emblem of the dragon have been associated with Bhutan ever since.

The dragon on the flag is white, symbolising purity. Flag adopted 1965.

Brunei became a British protectorate in 1888, and gained independance in 1984. It is now a absolute monarchy under it's Sultan.

A similar version of this flag (without the red coat of arms) was first used in 1906.
The yellow represents the Sultan of Brunei, and the black and white stripes represent Brunei's two chief ministers.
The red coat of arms was added to the flag in 1959. Flag adopted in 1959.

Cambodia was a French protectorate until 1949, when it gained nominal independance. Full independance was acheived in 1953.

The flag in current use is the same as the one adopted in 1948, though between then and now, 5 other designs have been used, all with the image of Angkor Wat in differing forms on the flag.

The monarchy was restored in 1993, and the 1948 flag readopted in the same year.

China has the world's oldest continuous civil society. The communist Chinese Peoples' Republic was established in 1949.

China's first national flag originated in 1872, a yellow flag with a blue dragon, that represented the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty.

The present flag dates from 1949 when the Peoples' Republic was formed. The large star represents communism, the red field the revolution, and the four smaller stars, the peasants, workers, petty bourgeoisie and patriotic capitalists.

The 'Flag of Five Crosses', was supposedly used by the Georgians people in the 12th century. It reflects the Orthodox Christian faith of most of the population.

The first record of the five-cross flag design dates from the mid 14th century.

Today's Georgian flag was adopted on 14 January 2004, making it one of the world's newer flags.

Under British rule from 1763, the Indian subcontinent was divided into India and Pakistan (West and East*) at independence in 1947.

This flag is based on the flag of the Indian National Congress that was established in 1885 to push for independence from the British.

The central motif is the Chakra (spinning wheel), the 24 spokes representing the hours in a day. Orange represents courage and sacrifice, white for peace and truth, and green for faith and chivalry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . * now Bangladesh

Indonesia was the former Dutch colony of Dutch East Indies that gained independence in 1949. Western New Guinea (Irian Jaya) was annexed in 1963.

This flag is based on the red and white banner of the Empire of Majahapit of the 13th century and the red and white colours were revived in the early 20th century as an expression of nationalism against the Dutch.

The first red and white flag flew in Java in 1928 and was adopted as the national flag of Indonesia in 1945 when Indonesia unilaterally declared it's independence.

Japan is known as the 'Land of the Rising Sun'. The current emperor and his predecessors decend from the House of Yamato, a family dynasty that united Japan in AD200.

The red circle at the centre of the Japanese flag is named Hinomaru (Disc of the Sun) and has been an imperial Japanese badge since the 14th century.

The current flag was officially adopted as the national flag in 1870.
The naval ensign has the same disc (offset to the hoist) but with the addition of 16 radiating red rays.

Part of central Asia conquered by Czarist Russia in the 18th century, Kazakstan was the last and largest republic to secede from the USSR.
The post-communist flag was adopted on 4 June 1992.

The blue field recalls the endless skys over the Kazak people. Below the golden sun with 32 rays, soars a native bird, a berkut or the 'steppe eagle'.
The vertical stripe near the hoist is 'national ornamentation'.

In the 20th century, the Kingdom of Korea was annexed by Japan (1910-1945) and then invaded by US in 1947. In 1948 the Korean peninsula was partitioned at the 38th parallel into North and South Korea.

The traditional Korean flag was red, white and blue. These colours have been retained, although prominence has been given to the red, as an expression of revolutionary traditions. Flag adopted in 1948.

In the 20th century, the Kingdom of Korea was annexed by Japan (1910-1945) and then invaded by US in 1947. In 1948 the Korean peninsula was partitioned at the 38th parallel into North and South Korea.

At the centre is the eastern yin-yang device representing the harmony of all opposites. This is surrounded by four trigrams from the I-Ching symbolising the four polarities. These are; (from top left, clockwise) or (from upper hoist, clockwise) heaven, water, fire and earth.

Annexed by Czarist Russia in 1876, then in 1926 Kyrgyzstan became a Soviet republic and was the last of these to declare it's sovereignty (1991).

The new flag was adopted in 1992, the red representing 'Manus the noble', the 40 rays of the sun, the 40 tribes of Kyrgyzstan, and at the centre, a stylised version of a Yurt (when viewed from above). A Yurt is the traditional home of the nomadic tribes of Kyrgyzstan.

A French protectorate as part of Indochina from 1893, Laos gained independence in 1949. A long civil war ended when the communist Pathet Lao came to power in 1975.

This flag is one of the few communist countries not to use the 5 pointed star as an emblem. The white disc on the blue background is said to represent the full moon over the Mekong River.

Flag adopted on 2 December 1975.

Malaya became independent from the British Empire in 1957, in 1963 the Federation of Malaysia was formed and adopted their new flag. Singapore seceded in 1965.

The flag is based on the US flag, though with Islamic influences. The 11 points of the star denote the 11 states at federation, the 14 red and white stripes denote the 14 states of present day Malaysia.

The archipelago of the Maldives (off the coast of the Indian subcontinent) was a British protectorate from 1887 until independence in 1965.

Originally a plain red flag with later a reverse white crescent, it was redesigned in 1948 after the independance of Ceylon (that the Maldives were a dependancy). The crescent was turned around and placed on a central green panel.

A pattern of black and white diagonal stripes along the hoist was removed at independance from UK in 1965.

Mongolia has been a communist state since 1924. The former Communist Party was democratically reelected in 1997.

In spite of the state's atheist standpoint the flag bears a 17th century Buddist emblem called a soyonbo at the hoist.

The soyonbo comprises various ideograms representing different elements from the Buddist view of the world.

Burma became a province of British Indiain 1886. Separated from India in 1937 Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948

The flag orginated with the resistance movement fighting the Japanese in WW2.
Originally a white star on a red field, it was modified to a blue canton with a large white star surrounded by 5 smaller ones.

The white emblem was changed in 1974 to a white cog behind a head of rice, all circled by 14 white stars.

Nepal's national flag is the only one in the world that is not square of rectangular.

Originally the flag was two pennants flown above one another as one.

The red is from the rhododendron, the county's national flower. The blue border, the colour of peace.

Once part of British India, Pakistan was created by the division of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan [West and East]. East Pakistan has since become the state of Bangladesh.

This flag was designed by Ali Jinnah, leader of the 'All Muslim League', whose aim was to form an independant Muslim state. Achieved in 1947 at a great cost of lives [both Hindu and Muslim], this partition of the subcontinent closed the British dominence of the region forever, -and opened a new chapter..

The Philippines was a Spanish colony until 1898, when it was ceded to the US. The Philippines gained independence in 1946.

The flag was first used by Filipino nationalists in exile when the Spanish controlled the islands. When the Philippines was ceded to the US this flag was flown freely, though it was banned by the Americans from 1907 to 1919. The Stars and Stripes was the official national flag during the American occupation.

Granted self government in 1959, Singapore became part of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, Singapore broke from Malaysia in 1965 and became an independant automous state.

The flag dates from the time Singapore became a self governing British colony in 1959. It was preserved when Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia and adopted as the national flag when Singapore became fully independant in 1965.

Ceylon was a British colony until independence in 1948. It became a republic with the name of Sri Lanka in 1972.

The original flag was derived from the Kingdom of Kandy, with a lion holding a sword on a red field. The yellow border representing the protection of Buddhism. This flag was unpopular with many minorities, so two vertical stripes were added, green for Muslims, orange for Hundu Tamils.In 1972 4 leaves were added. This version of the flag adopted 1978.

Taiwan was originally part of China, before that it was an independant state of Formosa.

The flag of Taiwan had been the national flag of China. It was used from 1928 to 1949 when the Kuomingtang (Chinese Nationalist Party) was in power.

The red field represents China, the blue canton and the white sun was the flag of the Kuomingtang. The 12 rays of the sun represent unending progress and each ray represents 2 hours of the day.

A former republic of the USSR, Tajikistan proclaimed it's independence in 1991.

In 1992 Tajikistan becomes the last of the former Soviet republics to adopt a new flag. The red white and green colours are the same as those of the flag of the former Tadzhik Soviet Socialist Republic.

The device at the centre represents a stylised crown and an arc of seven stars.

Formerly known as the Kingdom of Siam, Thailand is the only southeast Asian nation never to have been colonised.

The 19th century flag was a white elephant on a red feild. During WW1, horizontal red stripes were added above and below the elephant.

In 1917 the elephant was replaced by larger blue stripe, in order to show solidarity with the allies, whose flag colours were red white and blue.

Red has been the favoured colour of Turkish flags since Ottoman times.

When the white crescent and star first appeared on the Ottoman flag in 1793, they were already well established symbols of Islam. The star originally had eight points, but were reduced to five in 1793.

Flag proportions and specifications were regulated in 1936.

Turkmenistan was one of federated states of the former USSR, it became an independant republic in 1991.

The 5 stars represent the 5 new regions formed by the 1992 constitution, the vertical stripe on the hoist shows the 5 most reknown carpet medallions [guls] of Turkmenistan. The wreath of olive leaves (at bottom) was copied from the UN flag and added in 1997 -to symbolise neutrality.
Flag adopted February 1992.

Once part of the Mongol Empire, Uzbekistan was conquered by Czarist Russia in the late 19th century.

Following the collapse of the USSR, Uzbekistan was the first of the new central Asian republics to adopt their own flag, the design is based on the flag of the former regime.

Flag adopted 18 November 1991.

The former French colony of Cochin-China was abandoned by the French and the country divided into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam reunified the country in 1976.

Vietnam's flag was adopted in 1976 at the end of the Vietnam war. It was the same flag as communist North Vietnam had used since 1955, a year after partition.

It is very similar to the flag used by the National Resistance movement in it's struggle with Japanese forces during WW2.