Countries and Their Flags

A country is an area of land with its own government, laws, and borders. There are 195 countries in the world, and they vary enormously — from vast Russia, which spans eleven time zones, to tiny Vatican City, which is smaller than most school playing fields. Each country also has its own flag, its own leaders, and usually its own money and official languages.

People often confuse a country with a continent or a city. A continent is a huge landmass that holds many countries; a country is a single nation; and a city is just one town within a country. So Europe is a continent, France is a country inside Europe, and Paris is a city inside France. Keeping these three apart makes geography much easier to understand.

Every country has a flag. Flags use colours and symbols to represent a nation's history, values, and people. Some flags show religious symbols, some use colours linked to nature, and some display the arms of historic royal families. A flag is a kind of badge for a whole country, flown proudly at sporting events, on government buildings, and by ships at sea.

The colours and patterns on flags often tell a story. Red can stand for bravery or the blood of those who fought for the country; white can mean peace; green can stand for the land or for hope. Stars sometimes represent states or regions, like the fifty stars on the flag of the United States, one for each state.

Borders between countries are sometimes natural features like rivers or mountain ranges. Others were drawn by treaties after wars or agreements between governments. Some borders have changed many times throughout history, and a few are still argued over today. When you look at a world map, every line between two colours is a border that people once agreed upon.