20 Flags That Look Almost Identical
Some country flags are so similar that even experts mix them up. Below are 20 of the most commonly confused flag pairs, shown side by side with an explanation of how to tell them apart.
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1. Chad vs Romania
Both flags use vertical blue, yellow, and red stripes. The only difference is a barely perceptible shade: Chad's blue is slightly darker (indigo) while Romania's is a brighter cobalt blue.
2. Indonesia vs Monaco
Both are horizontal bicolors of red on top and white on the bottom. The only technical difference is their proportions: Indonesia's flag is 2:3 while Monaco's is 4:5.
3. Ireland vs Ivory Coast
Both are vertical tricolors of green, white, and orange. Ireland reads green-white-orange from the hoist, while Ivory Coast reverses it to orange-white-green.
4. Mali vs Guinea
Both use vertical green, yellow, and red Pan-African stripes. Mali reads green-yellow-red from the hoist; Guinea reverses the order to red-yellow-green.
5. Luxembourg vs Netherlands
Both are horizontal red-white-blue tricolors. Luxembourg uses a lighter sky blue and has a longer 3:5 ratio, while the Netherlands uses a darker cobalt blue at 2:3.
6. Australia vs New Zealand
Both feature a blue field with the Union Jack in the canton and stars representing the Southern Cross. Australia adds a large Commonwealth Star below the Union Jack and uses white stars; New Zealand has only four red-bordered white stars.
7. Colombia vs Ecuador
Both use horizontal yellow, blue, and red stripes with a large yellow band on top. Ecuador adds its coat of arms in the center, while Colombia's flag is plain.
8. Norway vs Iceland
Both feature an off-center Nordic cross. Norway uses a red field with a blue cross outlined in white, while Iceland uses a blue field with a red cross outlined in white — essentially swapped color schemes.
9. Bahrain vs Qatar
Both have a white band on the hoist side and a colored field with a serrated zigzag edge. Bahrain uses red with 5 points; Qatar uses maroon with 9 points and a much wider aspect ratio.
10. Senegal vs Mali
Both are vertical green-yellow-red Pan-African tricolors. The key difference is that Senegal places a green star in the center of the yellow stripe, while Mali's flag is plain.
11. Poland vs Indonesia
Both are simple horizontal bicolors of white and red. Poland puts white on top and red on the bottom; Indonesia reverses it with red on top and white on the bottom.
12. Italy vs Mexico
Both are vertical green-white-red tricolors. Mexico adds its national coat of arms (an eagle on a cactus) in the center white stripe, while Italy's flag is plain. Mexico also uses slightly darker shades.
13. Slovenia vs Slovakia
Both are horizontal white-blue-red tricolors with a coat of arms on the hoist side. Slovenia's coat of arms features Mount Triglav; Slovakia's shows a double cross on three hills. Even their names sound similar.
14. India vs Niger
Both use horizontal saffron/orange, white, and green stripes. India has the blue Ashoka Chakra wheel in the center; Niger has an orange circle. The stripe order also differs slightly in shade.
15. Hungary vs Tajikistan
Both are horizontal red-white-green tricolors. Tajikistan adds a gold crown and stars emblem in the center white stripe and uses slightly different proportions of each stripe.
16. Estonia vs Botswana
Both feature horizontal blue, black, and white bands. Estonia uses equal stripes of blue-black-white, while Botswana has a light blue field with a black stripe bordered by thin white stripes in the center.
17. Nigeria vs India
Both use green and white. Nigeria's flag is vertical green-white-green, while India is horizontal saffron-white-green with the Ashoka Chakra. From a distance, the green and white combination can cause confusion.
18. Denmark vs Switzerland
Both are red flags with a white cross. Denmark uses an off-center Nordic cross that extends to the edges; Switzerland uses a centered, shorter Greek cross on a square flag.
19. El Salvador vs Nicaragua
Both are horizontal blue-white-blue tricolors with a central emblem. El Salvador's emblem shows a triangle with volcanoes; Nicaragua's shows a triangle with a rainbow. The blue shades also differ slightly.
20. New Zealand vs Australia
Seen from a different angle than pair 6 above: New Zealand has 4 red stars with white borders, while Australia has 6 white stars plus the large Commonwealth Star. The number and color of stars is the fastest way to tell them apart.
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