Americas Flags Quiz: Flags of North and South America

How to play the Americas flags quiz

Every round uses the 35 flags of North and South America. Choose how to answer:

• Name the flag. One flag, four country names. The wrong answers are look-alikes, so Honduras and Nicaragua often appear together.
• Type the country. No choices; spelling is forgiving, and "St Lucia" or "Saint Lucia" both work.
• Pick the flag. A country name and four flags.

Then choose a mode. Learn shows all 35 flags on one wall, with names on or off. Practice is untimed and brings misses back. Quiz is timed with three tries per flag. Challenge gives you 60 seconds of streaks.

Flag families of the Americas

Gran Colombia's yellow, blue and red. Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela all use horizontal yellow, blue and red stripes inherited from Gran Colombia, which Simón Bolívar led after independence from Spain. Colombia's yellow stripe is twice as wide as the others; Ecuador adds its coat of arms with a condor; Venezuela's stripes are equal, with an arc of eight white stars.

Central America's blue and white. Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua all use blue and white from the Federal Republic of Central America. Honduras has five blue stars, Nicaragua and El Salvador have their coats of arms in the center, and Guatemala turns the stripes vertical. Costa Rica adds a broad red stripe.

Sun and stars. Argentina and Uruguay both show the Sun of May, a sun with a face that recalls the May Revolution of 1810 in Buenos Aires. Brazil's flag shows the night sky over Rio de Janeiro, with 27 stars for its states and federal district and the motto "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress). Chile's lone white star on a blue square looks a little like the flag of Texas.

Caribbean colors and symbols. Many Caribbean flags use bright colors for sun, sea and land. Jamaica's gold saltire on green and black is the only national flag without red, white or blue. Dominica's flag shows a Sisserou parrot, and Barbados's a black trident. Grenada's includes a nutmeg, one of the island's best-known exports. Saint Lucia's shows a gold and black triangle for its twin Piton mountains.

North America's big three. The United States has 13 stripes for the original colonies and 50 stars for the states. Canada's red maple leaf flag was adopted in 1965. Mexico's tricolor shows an eagle on a cactus eating a snake, from the Aztec legend of the founding of Tenochtitlan, today's Mexico City.

Look-alike flags of the Americas

Flags and independence in the Americas

Almost every flag in the Americas marks a fight for independence. The United States declared independence from Britain in 1776. Haiti became independent from France in 1804 after a revolution led by people who had been enslaved; its flag is said to have been made by tearing the white out of the French tricolor. Most of Spanish America won independence between 1810 and the 1820s, led by figures such as Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, and their flags often show suns, stars and eagles as symbols of a new beginning. Many Caribbean nations became independent from Britain between 1962 and 1983 and chose modern flags with bold geometric designs. Canada and Belize, which separated from Britain peacefully, adopted their current flags in 1965 and 1981.

The flags by region

A few flags have details worth pointing out to children. Belize's flag has a detailed coat of arms with two woodcutters and a mahogany tree, a nod to the logging that built the colony, and Panama's is divided into four quarters with a blue and a red star, often explained as the country's two political parties joined in peace. Paraguay's is unusual for another reason: its front and back show different seals, so the flag isn't the same on both sides.

Tips for learning the flags of the Americas

1. Learn the families first. Gran Colombia (three flags), Central America (five), the Sun of May (two). That's ten flags in three groups.
2. Notice the emblems. Mexico's eagle, Brazil's globe, Dominica's parrot and Ecuador's condor are unforgettable once you've seen them.
3. Use the maps. Find each country on the North America map quiz or the South America map quiz right after you name its flag.
4. Practice the Caribbean last. The 13 island flags are the least familiar to most children. Give them their own Practice round with names hidden.

Keep learning

Pair this quiz with the Caribbean map quiz and the Latin America map quiz, or test yourself on all 197 in the world flags quiz. Spanish and Portuguese practice goes well with these flags; language apps like the ones below are a popular way to start.