What's in a Flag?

Nepal's is the only national flag that isn't a rectangle. Kuwait's colors come from a 700-year-old poem. One flag features an assault rifle. Most people have never heard these stories.

This is an A–Z field guide to 197 flags: every UN member state plus Vatican City, Palestine, Kosovo and Taiwan. Two countries share each page, shown in full color alongside the history of the design.

For each flag you get:

• the year it was adopted, and often the law that made it official
• what the colors, shapes and symbols stand for, based on official sources
• the story behind the design, from revolutions and compromises to the odd accident
• one detail that will make you look twice next time

Made for geography fans, trivia regulars and teachers, and anyone who has wondered about the dragon on Bhutan's flag.