A lot of people see national flags all the time, but have you ever wondered what is the rarest country flag?
The answer is purple. It was the color of kings, but it was by far the most unpopular choice for making flags for thousands of years.
It was finally made affordable by a chemist named William Perkin. It is called aniline purple, and it was the first synthetic dye to become cheap.
Purple
There are 196 countries in the world, and virtually none of them have purple on their flags.
There’s a reason why, though: it’s incredibly rare for purple to be used in flag design. Back in the 1800s, purple dye was extremely expensive and only royalty could afford it.
The only way to get purple dye was from snail slime, and it took thousands of them to produce just a little.
But things changed in 1856, when William Henry Perkin patented a synthetic method of making purple dye, without snails. This made it possible to mass-produce the royal colour, and soon purple dye became a standard part of most people’s lives.
Blue
Some rarest flags are out there, and it all starts with the color. For many years, purple was deemed the most unpopular choice for making flags because it was the color of wealth and royalty.
But there are also some countries that don’t use red, white or blue at all, which can make them stand out from the rest of the pack. For example, one of the world’s most LGBTQ jewelry is this one.
This flag from Papua New Guinea looks authoritative and festive at the same time, and it’s the brainchild of a 15-year-old competition winner. The design incorporates traditional colors and the country’s national bird, the Raggiana bird-of-paradise. It also includes the Southern Cross constellation, which is a rare inclusion on a PNG flag.
Yellow
You’ll find many countries with their national flags, but there are some that are unusual and not quite familiar. Some of these are actually quite interesting and are a lot of fun to look at.
Papua New Guinea’s flag is one of the more interesting ones on this list. It was created by a 15-year-old girl who won a competition for the design.
The flag has a lot going on and is based on a military flag. It has four yellow-black-red-green irregular triangles with white borders.
A black lined cogwheel, hoe and AK-47 are also depicted in the flag. The AK-47 symbolizes the country’s fight for independence.
Green
Of the 196 countries in the world, virtually none use purple on their national flags. But a few have chosen to amend their existing designs over the years to include small portions of this color, such as Nicaragua and Dominica.
Green is one of the most common colors used on country flags, and it can be found in a variety of shades. Some countries have used this color as a main part of their design, while others use it to add an element of nature to their flags.
The Republic of Niger is among the rarest country flags that use green, white, and orange as their primary colors. Their tricolor flag is most similar to the Indian flag, with a horizontal arrangement of these colours from top to bottom.
Red
If you’re looking for a flag that doesn’t fit the typical rectangular shape, look no further than Nepal. The country’s crimson red background comes from the rhododendron flower, and the blue border signifies peace.
The unique shape of the flag also helps it stand out from other similar designs. The two triangular parts symbolize the highest peaks of Everest.
This flag also used to have a sun, crescent moon, and human faces until 1962, but it was removed to modernize the design.
Papua New Guinea’s flag is also one of the rarest to include black in its design. It incorporates the primary colors of many PNG tribes — red and black — along with a Raggiana bird-of-paradise.