State flag

{{Short description|Term referring to two types of flag}}

{{one source|date=June 2018}}

File:State flag of Peru, Túcume.jpg]]

In vexillology, a state flag is either the flag of the government of a sovereign state, or the flag of an individual federated state (subnational administrative division).

Government flag

A state flag is a variant of a national flag (or occasionally a completely different design) specifically designated and restricted by law or custom (theoretically or actually) to use by a country's government or its agencies. For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as government flags. In many countries the state flag and the civil flag (as flown by the general public) are identical, but in other countries, notably those in Latin America, central Europe, and Scandinavia, the state flag is a more complex version of the national flag, often featuring the national coat of arms or some other emblem as part of the design. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to further differentiate them from civil flags.{{cite book|last=Znamierowski|title=World Encyclopedia of Flags|page=66|chapter=Government Flags}}

In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by non-military government ships such as guard vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the Blue Ensign.{{cite book|last=Znamierowski|title=World Encyclopedia of Flags|page=108|chapter=The Union Jack}}

State flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organizations; these are referred to as war flags and naval ensigns.{{cite book|last=Znamierowski|title=World Encyclopedia of Flags|page=88|chapter=Naval Ensigns and Flags}}

=National flags with separate state and civil versions=

class="wikitable"
File:Flag of Andorra (civil).svgOptional civil flag of Andorra
File:Flag of Andorra.svgState and civil flag of Andorra
File:Flag of Argentina (civil).svgOptional civil flag of Argentina
File:Flag of Argentina.svgState and civil flag of Argentina
File:Flag of Austria.svgOptional civil flag of Austria
File:Flag of Austria (state).svgState flag of Austria
File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svgDe facto civil flag of Belgium (ratio 2:3)
File:Flag of Belgium.svgOfficial state and civil flag of Belgium (ratio 13:15)
File:Flag of Bolivia.svgCivil flag of Bolivia
File:Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svgState flag of Bolivia
File:Flag of Costa Rica.svgCivil flag of Costa Rica
File:Flag of Costa Rica (state).svgState flag of Costa Rica
File:Flag of Denmark.svgCivil flag of Denmark
style="text-align:left"| File:Flag of Denmark (state).svg

|| State flag of Denmark

File:Civil Ensign of the Dominican Republic.svgCivil flag of Dominican Republic
File:Flag of the Dominican Republic.svgState flag of Dominican Republic
File:Civil Flag of El Salvador.svgCivil flag of El Salvador
File:Flag of El Salvador.svgState flag of El Salvador
File:Civil Ensign of El Salvador.svgAlternative state flag of El Salvador
File:Flag of Finland.svgCivil flag of Finland
File:Flag of Finland (state).svgState flag of Finland
File:Flag of Germany.svgCivil and alternative state flag of Germany
File:Flag of Germany (state).svgState flag of Germany
File:Flag of Germany (unoff).svgUnofficial flag of Germany
File:Civil Ensign of Guatemala.svgCivil flag of Guatemala
File:Flag of Guatemala.svgState flag of Guatemala
File:Flag of Haiti (civil).svgCivil flag of Haiti
File:Flag of Haiti.svgState flag of Haiti
File:Flag of Hungary.svgState and civil flag of Hungary (ratio 1:2)
File:Civil Ensign of Hungary.svgAlternative civil flag of Hungary (ratio 2:3)
File:Flag of Hungary (1920–1946).svgOptional state flag of Hungary
File:Flag of Iceland.svgCivil flag of Iceland
File:Flag of Iceland (state).svgState flag of Iceland
File:Flag of Italy.svgCivil flag of Italy
File:State Ensign of Italy.svgState flag of Italy (maritime only)
File:Flag of Liechtenstein.svgCivil flag of Liechtenstein
File:Flag of Liechtenstein (state).svgState flag of Liechtenstein
File:Flag of Lithuania.svgState and civil flag of Lithuania
File:Flag of Lithuania (state).svgHistorical state flag of Lithuania
File:Flag of Monaco.svgCivil flag of Monaco
File:Flag of Monaco (state).svgState flag of Monaco
File:Flag of Nigeria.svgCivil flag of Nigeria
File:Flag of Nigeria (state).svgState flag of Nigeria
File:Flag of Norway.svgCivil flag of Norway
style="text-align:left"| File:Flag of Norway, state.svg

|| State flag of Norway

File:Flag of Palestine.svgCivil flag of the State of Palestine
File:Flag of Palestine (state).svgState flag of the State of Palestine
File:Flag of Peru.svgCivil flag of Peru
File:Flag of Peru (state).svgState flag of Peru
File:Flag of Poland.svgCivil flag of Poland
File:Flag of Poland (with coat of arms).svgState flag of Poland
File:Flag of Romania.svgCivil flag of Romania
File:Flag of Romania (with coat of arms).svgUnofficial state flag of Romania
File:Flag of Russia.svgState and civil flag of Russia
File:Unofficial Flag of Russia.svgUnofficial flag of Russia
File:Flag of San Marino (civil).svgCivil flag of San Marino
File:Flag of San Marino.svgState flag of San Marino
File:Civil Flag of Serbia.svgCivil flag of Serbia
File:Flag of Serbia.svgState flag of Serbia
File:Flag of Spain (civil).svgOptional civil flag of Spain
File:Flag of Spain.svgState and civil flag of Spain
File:Flag of Transnistria.svgOptional civil flag of Transnistria
File:Flag of Transnistria (state).svgState and civil flag of Transnistria
File:Flag of Tuvalu.svgState and civil flag of Tuvalu
File:Flag of Tuvalu (state).svgAlternative state flag of Tuvalu
File:Flag of Uruguay.svgCivil and state flag of Uruguay
File:Flag of Artigas.svgAlternative state flag of Uruguay (Artigas flag)
File:Flag of the Treinta y Tres.svgAlternative state flag of Uruguay (Flag of the Treinta y Tres)
File:Flag of Venezuela.svgCivil flag of Venezuela
File:Flag of Venezuela (state).svgState flag of Venezuela

Flag of a federated state (subnational entity)

File:FinancialDistrict.jpg on display in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.]]

In Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and some other federalized countries, the term state flag can have a different usage, as it frequently refers to an official flag of any of the individual states or territorial subdivisions that make up the nation.{{cite book|last=Znamierowski|title=World Encyclopedia of Flags|pages=180, 192, 208}}

To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would be more precisely referred to as "the flag of the state of X", rather than "the state flag of X".{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} For this usage, see also:

Notes

{{reflist}}

References

  • {{cite book

|title = The world encyclopedia of flags: The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns

|last = Znamierowski

|first = Alfred

|year = 2002

|publisher = Hermes House

|location = London

|isbn = 1-84309-042-2

|url-access = registration

|url = https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi0000znam

}}