List of sovereign states by date of current flag adoption

This is a list of sovereign states by the date in which they adopted their current flag.

For most countries, the date of flag adoption is obvious, but for others it is more debatable. This list defines flag adoption as when the flag was first used to represent a nation. Minor changes to flags (such as the change of a colour's shade or a minor addition to the flag) do not count as a new adoption of a flag unless done for political reasons.

Country Year of flag adoption
 Denmark 1219
 Austria 1230
 Netherlands 1572
 France 1794
 United Kingdom 1801
 Argentina 1812
 Chile 1817
 Norway 1821
 Peru 1825
 Uruguay 1830
 Belgium 1831
 Tunisia 1831
 Paraguay 1842
 Turkey 1844
 Dominican Republic 1844
 Liberia 1847
 Romania 1848
 Bolivia 1851
 Ecuador 1860
 Colombia 1861
 San Marino 1862
 Honduras 1866
 Japan 1870
 Guatemala 1871
 Tonga 1875
 Bulgaria 1879
 Monaco 1881
 Russia 1883
 Brazil 1889
 Switzerland 1889
 Philippines 1898
 Australia 1901
 New Zealand 1902
 Cuba 1902
 Panama 1903
 Sweden 1906
 Costa Rica 1906
 Portugal 1911
El Salvador 1912
 Thailand 1917
 Ukraine 1918
 Lithuania 1918
 Latvia 1918
 Estonia 1918
 Finland 1918
 Azerbaijan 1918
 Ireland 1919
 Poland 1919
 Czech Republic 1920
 Jordan 1928
 Republic of China 1921
 Vatican City 1929
 Liechtenstein 1937
 Lebanon 1943
 Iceland 1944
 Indonesia 1945
 Vietnam 1945
 India 1947
 Pakistan 1947
 Italy 1948
 South Korea 1948
 North Korea 1948
 Israel 1948
 Cambodia 1948
 Samoa 1949
 Germany 1949
 China 1949
 Somalia 1954
 Morocco 1956
 Ghana 1957
 Hungary 1957
 Syria 1958
 Republic of the Congo 1958
 Madagascar 1958
 Guinea 1958
 Central African Republic 1958
 Mauritania 1959
 Chad 1959
 Brunei 1959
 Benin 1959
 Niger 1959
 Singapore 1959
 Côte d'Ivoire 1959
 USA 1960
 Togo 1960
 Gabon 1960
 Cyprus 1960
 Senegal 1960
 Nigeria 1960
 Mali 1961
 Sierra Leone 1961
 Kuwait 1961
 Algeria 1962
 Jamaica 1962
 Trinidad and Tobago 1962
 Uganda 1962
 Nepal 1962
 Malaysia 1963
 Kenya 1963
 Tanzania 1964
 Malta 1964
 Zambia 1964
 Canada 1965
 Gambia 1965
 Moldova 1965
 Ghana 1966
 Botswana 1966
 Barbados 1966
 Saint Lucia 1967
 Burundi 1967
 Nauru 1968
 Mauritius 1968
 Mexico 1968
 Swaziland 1968
 Bhutan 1969
 Sudan 1970
 Fiji 1970
 Papua New Guinea 1971
 Qatar 1971
 Andorra 1971
 Nicaragua 1971
 United Arab Emirates 1971
 Bangladesh 1972
 Sri Lanka 1972
 Luxembourg 1972
 Saudi Arabia 1973
 Bahamas 1973
 Guinea-Bissau 1973
 Grenada 1974
 Cameroon 1975
 São Tomé and Príncipe 1975
 Angola 1975
 Suriname 1975
 Laos 1975
 Djibouti 1977
 Solomon Islands 1977
 Tuvalu 1978
 Dominica 1978
 Greece 1978
 Marshall Islands 1979
 Kiribati 1979
 Equatorial Guinea 1979
 Federated States of Micronesia 1979
 Vanuatu 1980
 Zimbabwe 1980
 Iran 1980
 Palau 1981
 Belize 1981
 Spain 1981
 Mozambique 1983
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1983
 Burkina Faso 1984
 Egypt 1984
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1985
 Haiti 1987
 Namibia 1990
 Yemen 1990
 Moldova 1990
 Armenia 1990
 Croatia 1990
 Slovenia 1991
 Uzbekistan 1991
 Mongolia 1992
 Kyrgyzstan 1992
 Albania 1992
 Slovakia 1992
 Cape Verde 1992
 Tajikistan 1992
 South Africa 1994
 Belarus 1995
 Macedonia 1995
 Oman 1995
 Eritrea 1995
 Kazakhstan 1996
 Ethiopia 1996
 Seychelles 1996
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1998
 Turkmenistan 2001
 Rwanda 2001
 Comoros 2002
 Bahrain 2002
 East Timor 2002
 Afghanistan 2004
 Georgia 2004
 Montenegro 2004
 Serbia 2004
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2006
 Venezuela 2006
 Lesotho 2006
 Iraq 2008
 Malawi 2010
 Myanmar 2010
 South Sudan 2011
 Libya 2011

Sources