Information About

Tricolour




A tricolour is a Flag or Banner having three Colour s, usually in approximately equal size (horizontally or vertically) and lacking additional symbols. One of the first horizontal tricolours was the flag of the Netherlands ; one of the first vertical tricolours was the Tricolour of France .


VARIETY OF TRIBAND

The tricolour is a specific type of Triband . In a triband, the design is of three horizontal or three vertical stripes, often formed - from an heraldic point of view - by the placement of a horizontal or vertical stripe (a bar or a fess, respectively), over a background. The triband may thus have two stripes of the same colour split by a stripe of a second colour (examples of this include the flags of Canada and Spain ).

In a tricolour, the two outer stripes are of different colours, hence the name ("tri-colour" = three colours). Tricolours can thus be seen as a subset of tribands.


LIST OF TRICOLOURS AND TRIBANDS

Below is a list with other tricolours organized by continent.


Africa


Tricolours from Africa



Other tribands from Africa



North and South America


Tricolours from North America and South America



Other tribands from North America and South America



Asia


Tricolours from Asia



Other tribands from Asia



Europe


Tricolours from Europe



Other tribands from Europe



Oceania

(No tricolours.)

Other tribands from Oceania

  • The Flag Of French Polynesia (with a symbol)

  • The Flag Of Nauru (with a symbol) (bars are more unequal than most) Comment: Is the line symbolizing the Equator considered a "band"? If so, then there are other flags such as that of Cape Verde, that should also be included here. -->

  • The Flag Of Norfolk Island (with a symbol)



Non-national


Non-national tricolours




Other non-national tribands




FORMER NATIONS AND FORMER NATIONAL FLAGS


Tricolours of former nations and former national flags




Other tribands of former nations and former national flags




CONFUSION AND PROFUSION OF MEANINGS

As can be seen in the list above, many tricolours and tribands have additional emblems in colours that are not necessarily those of the stripes. They are still, however, usually regarded by Vexillologist s as tricolours.

Some vexillologists go further still, and describe flags containing three Fimbriated stripes as fimbriated tricolours. In this design,
three broad stripes might be separated by two very thin stripes immediately above and below the central stripe. Flags of this type include the flags of Uzbekistan , Kenya , North Korea and Gambia .

Vexillologists also occasionally describe flags of which the main element is three stripes as being "based on a tricolour (or triband) design". Flags such as the Flag Of The Bahamas and the Flag Of Palestine fall into this category.

Finally, some vexillologists take the meaning of the term at its barest, and simply use it to describe any flag containing just three colours, irrespective of the design. Thus, the flags Of The United States and The United Kingdom might be described as tricolours.


SEE ALSO