Shared stripes and colours: Why many national flags look alike

National flags are powerful symbols of identity, yet many look curiously similar to one another. From repeating colour schemes to common emblems and layouts, these resemblances are rarely coincidental.

Often, shared flag designs trace back to historical alliances, cultural movements, political ideologies, or colonial ties. This article explores the fascinating reasons behind these flag look-alikes, from Pan-African and Pan-Arab colours to the Nordic cross, colonial-era legacies, and regional patterns across Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Pan-African colours

One striking pattern is the prevalence of Pan-African colours on many African flags. After World War II, as African nations gained independence from colonial rule, they drew inspiration from the only African country that had never been colonised – Ethiopia.

Ethiopia’s flag, a horizontal tricolour of green, yellow, and red, became a symbol of African pride because Ethiopia defeated Italian colonisers at Adwa in 1896 and preserved its sovereignty.

When Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence in 1957, its new flag (designed by Theodosia Okoh) adopted Ethiopia’s tri-colour scheme – simply flipping the order and adding a black star of freedom.

Soon, other newly independent states followed Ghana’s lead. Guinea (1958) chose the same red-yellow-green colours in vertical stripes, Mali used the same but reversed the order, and Cameroon and Senegal incorporated stars on similar tricolour backgrounds.

Pan-Arab colours

Across the Middle East and North Africa, many countries fly flags with the same set of Pan-Arab colours: red, white, black, and green. This tradition originates from the Arab Revolt of 1916 against Ottoman rule.

The Arab Revolt’s flag combined black, white, and green horizontal stripes with a red triangular chevron, an iconic design that became emblematic of Arab nationalism. These four colours were not random; each had historic significance.

Indeed, black was the colour of the Prophet’s banner (and later the Abbasid caliphate), white was used by the earlier Umayyad dynasty, green symbolised Islam (and was associated with the Fatimid caliphate), and red stood for the Hashemite dynasty. By incorporating all four, the Arab Revolt flag represented a unified Arab identity drawn from a proud history.

The Scandinavian cross

In Northern Europe, the five Nordic countries (and their associated territories) likewise share a signature flag design: the Scandinavian cross. Each flag – Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland – features a prominent off-centre cross extending to the edges. This design dates back to Denmark’s flag (the Dannebrog), which tradition holds first appeared in the 13th century and is the oldest state flag still in use.

The white-on-red Danish flag’s cross, originally a Christian symbol from the era of the Crusades, became a template for the region. Over time, neighbouring nations adopted the same cross layout as a nod to shared history and religion, changing only the colours to reflect their identity.

Sweden’s flag, for instance, places a yellow cross on a blue field, while Finland’s is a blue cross on white. Norway, upon independence from Danish rule, introduced a new tricolour flag in 1821 – a red field with a white-bordered blue cross – deliberately combining the Scandinavian cross with the red, white, and blue ideals of freedom influenced by the French flag.