Flags. Every country has one, some are pretty, some are not so pretty. And all of them, save
three worldwide, are rectangular. The only exception truly being Nepal, with this double
triangle flag, but also Switzerland and Vatican City, which have squared flags. This is the time
when you comment below telling me that a square is technically a rectangle, I know, but you get
the point, they're different. The rest of national flags worldwide are in fact rectangular, meaning
meaning they are more wide than they are tall. But other than the pattern, colors or symbols that they have, there is something else in
which a lot of them differ or coincide. The size ratio. As we can see on this map, 2x3 and 1x2, blue and green respectively are the most used
Ahead, we'll see why. And throughout the world, many countries use different, sometimes even unique aspect ratios
for their flags. A lot of times this is wrongly ignored and flags are just printed out or displayed online
in a random rectangular or even circular shape. I myself do this in videos at times
but in reality a lot of flags have different size ratios making them look very different The size ratio is precisely how the width corresponds to the height For instance Belgium flag has an aspect ratio of 13 to 15 a very unique one while Bosnia has one
of 1 by 2. This means Belgium's is closer to being a square, while Bosnia's is wider, and therefore
more what we associate with a rectangle. Let's go through five examples that I think illustrate
this very well, and will allow us to definitely understand how the flag ratios make them look
different. Switzerland's flag, being square, has a ratio of 1 by 1, just like Vatican City. There
are also a couple other almost square flags, but not perfectly square, like Niger with 6 to 7
Monaco at 4 to 5, or like I said, Belgium. On the other side, we have the very rectangular
or very long flags, like Qatar at 11 by 28, the only flag in the world whose length is more than
double its height. France's flag has a ratio of 2 by 3, which as we'll see is the most common one
worldwide, being the closest to what we consider the normal flag ratio. Sweden's flag is 5 by 8
not differing that much, and the United Kingdom's is 1 by 2, much wider and the second most used
aspect ratio worldwide So now that we understood that different aspect ratios are a reality on flags let look into two things First why this is the case and second which are the
most and least used, paying attention to a few specific and interesting cases. Before we keep
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creativity today. Now, back to the video. So, why do countries' flags have different aspect ratios
First, we need to understand that flags didn't always used to be rectangular. Throughout history
many flags, especially in Asia, were a triangle. Even in Europe, early flags were mostly just
squared or if they were rectangular they were inverted to the ones we know now essentially being vertical mostly being used as military standards to identify a military force or a specific ruler It was only when European nations started becoming naval powers that rectangular flags
as we know them today became a reality, due to the need of identifying ships at sea and
differentiating them from other nations. And the reason why they chose this shape is pretty straightforward, it's the one that
better catches the wind, making it visible. Maybe this is why the Swiss flag always remained a square, because they're landlocked and
have no high seas fleet, the same as Nepal. It's also easier and cheaper to manufacture, in comparison to, for instance, a triangular
shape, at least at the time. So eventually all national flags worldwide followed this trend and began using rectangular shapes
The reason why they are different ratios is simply because they can
There's no fixed international rule for what the aspect ratio of a flag should be
some just decided having it a certain way, others have to do with the historical origin
of the flag, and others need it to be dissuaded in order to accurately display some patterns
or symbols on their flags. So now let's look at the aspect ratios themselves, which they are and who uses them
Like I mentioned, 2x3 is the most used ratio worldwide, by 85