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Flags of South and Central Asia

Recognise the 13 national flags of South and Central Asia by their colours and design, one family at a time.

13 cards · Geography

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Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the chapter a few at a time.

Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 27 Oct 2026

Sources: Gallery of sovereign state flags (Wikipedia), flag-icons by Lipis, MIT licence (the pictures)

Preview

  • Black, red and green bands, with a white emblem

    Black, red and green bands, with a white emblem

    Show answer: Black, red and green bands, with a white emblem

    Afghanistan

    Learn more: The flag of the Islamic Republic, from 2004. Since 2021 the Taliban have flown a white flag with black writing instead.

  • Green, with a red disc a little off-centre

    Green, with a red disc a little off-centre

    Show answer: Green, with a red disc a little off-centre

    Bangladesh

    Learn more: The red disc is the sun rising over Bengal, and the blood shed in the 1971 war of independence.

  • Yellow and orange halves, with a white dragon

    Yellow and orange halves, with a white dragon

    Show answer: Yellow and orange halves, with a white dragon

    Bhutan

    Learn more: The country's own name means "Land of the Thunder Dragon". The dragon holds jewels in its claws.

  • Saffron, white and green bands, with a blue wheel

    Saffron, white and green bands, with a blue wheel

    Show answer: Saffron, white and green bands, with a blue wheel

    India

    Learn more: The wheel is the Ashoka Chakra, with 24 spokes. By law the flag is made of khadi, a hand-spun cloth.

  • Red, with a green panel holding a white crescent

    Red, with a green panel holding a white crescent

    Show answer: Red, with a green panel holding a white crescent

    Maldives

    Learn more: A chain of about 1,200 coral islands: the lowest-lying country in the world.

About this topic

This chapter of Flags of the World covers the national flags of South and Central Asia. Each card shows a flag and asks which country flies it, with a hint and a short story of where its colours and shapes come from.

South Asia flies suns, lions, wheels and a dragon, and Nepal flies the only flag that isn't a rectangle. In Central Asia, five countries that left the Soviet Union in 1991 chose sky blue, suns, crescents and carpets.

Learn the family first, then the one detail that sets each flag apart: the order of the colours, a shade of blue, a cross, a star or an emblem. Once you know most of this chapter's flags, the next chapter of the Book starts arriving in your Daily Zap.

All 13 cards

  1. Black, red and green bands, with a white emblem
    Black, red and green bands, with a white emblem

    Afghanistan

    Learn more: The flag of the Islamic Republic, from 2004. Since 2021 the Taliban have flown a white flag with black writing instead.

  2. Green, with a red disc a little off-centre
    Green, with a red disc a little off-centre

    Bangladesh

    Learn more: The red disc is the sun rising over Bengal, and the blood shed in the 1971 war of independence.

  3. Yellow and orange halves, with a white dragon
    Yellow and orange halves, with a white dragon

    Bhutan

    Learn more: The country's own name means "Land of the Thunder Dragon". The dragon holds jewels in its claws.

  4. Saffron, white and green bands, with a blue wheel
    Saffron, white and green bands, with a blue wheel

    India

    Learn more: The wheel is the Ashoka Chakra, with 24 spokes. By law the flag is made of khadi, a hand-spun cloth.

  5. Red, with a green panel holding a white crescent
    Red, with a green panel holding a white crescent

    Maldives

    Learn more: A chain of about 1,200 coral islands: the lowest-lying country in the world.

  6. Two stacked red pennants, with a moon and a sun
    Two stacked red pennants, with a moon and a sun

    Nepal

    Learn more: The only national flag that is not a rectangle. Its two peaks are often said to stand for the Himalayas.

  7. Green, with a white bar and a white crescent and star
    Green, with a white bar and a white crescent and star

    Pakistan

    Learn more: Green stands for the Muslim majority, the white bar for the country's religious minorities.

  8. A golden lion with a sword, beside green and orange
    A golden lion with a sword, beside green and orange

    Sri Lanka

    Learn more: The lion stands for the Sinhalese; the green and orange bars for the Muslim and Tamil minorities.

  9. Sky blue, a gold sun over an eagle
    Sky blue, a gold sun over an eagle

    Kazakhstan

    Learn more: A steppe eagle flies under a sun with 32 rays. It is the largest landlocked country in the world.

  10. Red, with a yellow sun and a yurt's roof in it
    Red, with a yellow sun and a yurt's roof in it

    Kyrgyzstan

    Learn more: The lines in the sun show the crown of a yurt, the felt tent of nomads. The sun has 40 rays, for 40 tribes.

  11. Red, white and green bands, with a gold crown and stars
    Red, white and green bands, with a gold crown and stars

    Tajikistan

    Learn more: A crown under seven stars sits on its white band. Tajik is a Persian language, unlike its neighbours' Turkic ones.

  12. Green, a red carpet stripe, a crescent and five stars
    Green, a red carpet stripe, a crescent and five stars

    Turkmenistan

    Learn more: The red stripe shows five carpet patterns, one for each of its main tribes.

  13. Blue, white and green bands, a crescent and stars
    Blue, white and green bands, a crescent and stars

    Uzbekistan

    Learn more: The twelve stars beside the crescent are often said to stand for the months of the year.

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