Lookalike flags dataset
This dataset lists 41 pairs and groups of lookalike flags, with the one check that tells each apart.
Each row links to a full guide with sources. Download it, print it as a study sheet, or use it in your own quiz or lesson.
Licence
The dataset is free under CC BY 4.0. You can share and adapt it for any purpose, also commercially. Credit it as "Lookalike flags dataset by Bertopia, bertopia.app/flags/lookalike-flags-dataset/". The facts come from the Wikipedia articles listed on each guide.
Columns
slug, title, countries, iso_codes (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2), key_difference, url and sources. In the CSV, list values are joined with " | ".
All pairs
| Flags | Key difference |
|---|---|
  Chad vs Romania flag | They are almost identical: both are 2:3 vertical tricolours of blue, yellow and red. Chad's blue is a darker indigo (#00205B) while Romania's is a brighter cobalt (#002B7F), and the yellow and red differ slightly too. |
  Andorra vs Moldova flag | Look at the emblem and the shape. Moldova's flag is 1:2 and shows a golden eagle holding a cross, while Andorra's is 7:10, has a wider yellow stripe and shows a shield with the motto Virtus Unita Fortior. |
  Indonesia vs Monaco flag | Both are red over white, so check the shape: Monaco's flag is 4:5 and Indonesia's is a longer 2:3. Monaco's red is also a slightly darker shade. |
 Indonesia vs Poland flag | The colours are upside down: Indonesia has red on top, Poland has white on top. Poland's flag is also 5:8 while Indonesia's is 2:3. |
  Ireland vs Ivory Coast flag | They are mirror images: Ireland has green next to the pole, Ivory Coast has orange next to the pole. Ireland's flag is also longer, 1:2 against Ivory Coast's 2:3. |
 Ireland vs Italy flag | Check the last stripe: Ireland's is orange, Italy's is red. Ireland's flag is also longer, 1:2 against Italy's 2:3. |
 Mexico vs Italy flag | Mexico's flag has its coat of arms, a golden eagle on a cactus eating a serpent, in the white stripe. Italy's has no emblem, is 2:3 instead of 4:7, and uses lighter greens and reds. |
  Hungary vs Bulgaria flag | Look at the top stripe: Hungary's is red, Bulgaria's is white. Hungary is red, white, green, while Bulgaria is white, green, red. |
  Netherlands vs Luxembourg flag | Look at the blue: Luxembourg's bottom stripe is a light blue (#00A3E0) while the Dutch one is a dark cobalt blue (#1E4785). Luxembourg's flag is also longer, 3:5 or 1:2 against the Dutch 2:3. |
 France vs Netherlands flag | France's stripes are vertical (blue, white, red from the pole), while the Netherlands' are horizontal (red, white, blue from the top). Both are 2:3. |
  Belgium vs Germany flag | Belgium's stripes are vertical (black, yellow, red from the pole) while Germany's are horizontal (black, red, gold from the top). Belgium is almost square at 13:15, Germany is 3:5. |
  Austria vs Latvia flag | Latvia's red is a dark carmine and its white stripe is half as wide as each red one (2:1:2). Austria's red is brighter, its stripes are equal, and the flag is 2:3 instead of 1:2. |
   Slovenia vs Slovakia vs Russia flag | All three flags are white, blue and red horizontal stripes. Russia's has no emblem, Slovenia's has a blue shield showing Mount Triglav in the upper hoist corner, and Slovakia's has a red shield with a white double cross on three blue hills. |
  Norway vs Iceland flag | They use the same three colours in swapped places. Norway is a red flag with a dark blue cross edged in white, and Iceland is a blue flag with a red cross edged in white. |
   Nordic cross flags | All five share a cross shifted towards the hoist, so look at the colours: Denmark is white on red, Norway is white-edged blue on red, Sweden is yellow on blue, Finland is blue on white and Iceland is white-edged red on blue. |
  Australia vs New Zealand flag | Both are blue with the Union Jack in the corner. Australia has white stars, including a large Commonwealth Star under the Union Jack, while New Zealand has four red stars with white borders and nothing under the Union Jack. |
  United States vs Liberia flag | Count the stars: the United States has 50 small white stars, Liberia has one large white star. The US also has 13 stripes, Liberia has 11. |
 United States vs Malaysia flag | Look in the blue corner: the United States has 50 white stars, Malaysia has a yellow crescent and one yellow 14-point star. Malaysia also has 14 stripes against the US's 13. |
  Haiti vs Liechtenstein flag | Both are blue over red bicolours. Haiti puts its coat of arms on a white panel in the middle, and Liechtenstein has a gold crown in the upper hoist corner. |
  Greece vs Uruguay flag | Both have nine blue and white stripes, but Greece has a white cross on a blue canton, while Uruguay has the golden Sun of May on a white canton. |
  Costa Rica vs Thailand flag | Look at the wide middle stripe: it is red on Costa Rica's flag and blue on Thailand's. The outer stripes are blue on Costa Rica and red on Thailand. |
  Czechia vs Philippines flag | Check the triangle: Czechia's is plain blue with white over red stripes, while the Philippines has a white triangle with a gold sun and three gold stars, beside blue over red stripes. |
  Japan vs Bangladesh flag | Both have a red disc, but Japan's sits in the centre of a white field, and Bangladesh's sits slightly towards the pole on a dark green field. |
  Senegal vs Mali flag | Both are vertical green, yellow and red tricolours in a 2:3 shape. Senegal's flag has a green five-pointed star in the centre, while Mali's flag is plain. |
 Guinea vs Mali flag | They use the same three colours in vertical stripes, but in opposite order. Guinea starts with red at the hoist, Mali starts with green. |
 Cameroon vs Senegal flag | Both are vertical tricolours starting with green and carrying one star in the middle. Cameroon goes green, red, yellow with a yellow star on red; Senegal goes green, yellow, red with a green star on yellow. |
  Bolivia vs Ghana flag | Both are horizontal red, yellow and green tribands. Ghana has a black star in the centre and a 2:3 shape; Bolivia has no star, is 15:22, and its state flag carries the coat of arms. |
  Niger vs India flag | Both are orange (saffron), white and green horizontal tricolours. Niger has a plain orange circle in the middle and is nearly square; India has a navy blue Ashoka Chakra and is 2:3. |
  Sierra Leone vs Gabon flag | Both are horizontal tribands with green on top and blue at the bottom. Sierra Leone's middle stripe is white; Gabon's is yellow (gold), and Gabon's flag is a squarer 3:4. |
   Colombia vs Ecuador vs Venezuela flag | All three are yellow, blue and red from top to bottom. Colombia and Ecuador have a yellow stripe twice as tall as the others, Ecuador adds its coat of arms in the centre, and Venezuela has three equal stripes with eight white stars. |
   Honduras vs Nicaragua vs El Salvador flag | Each is a blue, white, blue horizontal triband. Honduras has five blue stars in an X pattern, Nicaragua has a triangle coat of arms with a rainbow and the words Republica de Nicaragua, and El Salvador has its own coat of arms in the white stripe. |
  Vietnam vs China flag | Both are red with yellow (gold) stars. Vietnam has a single star in the middle, while China has five stars in the upper hoist corner: one large star and an arc of four small ones. |
  Turkey vs Tunisia flag | Both are red 2:3 flags with a crescent and a star. On Turkey's flag they are white and sit directly on the red, slightly toward the hoist; on Tunisia's they are red, inside a white disc in the centre. |
    Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen flags | Egypt, Iraq and Yemen all use red, white and black stripes: Egypt adds the Eagle of Saladin, Iraq adds the green words Allahu Akbar, and Yemen has nothing on it. Syria's current flag is green, white and black with three red stars. |
  Jordan vs Palestine flag | Look inside the red triangle: Jordan's has a small white seven-pointed star, Palestine's is empty. |
  Kuwait vs UAE flag | Kuwait has a black trapezium at the pole with green, white and red stripes. The UAE has a red vertical bar at the pole with green, white and black stripes. |
  Qatar vs Bahrain flag | Count the points and check the colour: Qatar is maroon with nine serrated points, Bahrain is red with five. |
 Denmark vs Switzerland flag | Denmark's white cross runs right to the edges and sits towards the pole. Switzerland's flag is square, and its white cross floats in the centre. |
 Serbia vs Russia flag | Russia is white on top and red at the bottom. Serbia is the reverse, red on top and white at the bottom, and the state flag adds a coat of arms. |
 Lithuania vs Bolivia flag | Find the yellow stripe: it is on top in Lithuania (yellow, green, red) and in the middle in Bolivia (red, yellow, green). |
  Iran vs Tajikistan flag | Iran has green on top and a red emblem with white writing on the edges. Tajikistan has red on top, a wider white band and a yellow crown under seven stars. |
Lookalike flags dataset by Bertopia, bertopia.app/flags/lookalike-flags-dataset/, CC BY 4.0.
