You're at the Olympics. Or maybe scrolling through a news feed about a protest in a country you can't quite place. You see the red and white stripes. You see the blue canton in the top left corner. Your brain immediately goes, "America." Then you look closer.
Wait.
There's only one star. Or maybe the stripes are vertical. Or the colors are just... off. It happens all the time because the "Stars and Stripes" is arguably the most influential piece of graphic design in modern political history. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Well, in the world of vexillology—that's the fancy word for the study of flags—it’s more about shared revolutionary history and political aspirations than just copying someone's homework.
Flags that look like the American flag aren't just accidents. They are deliberate statements.
The Liberian Connection: More Than Just a Twin
If you've ever accidentally used the wrong emoji in a text, it was probably the Liberian flag. It is the most common "twin" out there. Liberia's flag features eleven horizontal stripes of red and white, with a single white star inside a blue square.
Why the resemblance? It's deep. Liberia was founded by the American Colonization Society in the early 19th century. These were free people of color and formerly enslaved people from the United States who moved to West Africa. They didn't just bring their belongings; they brought a constitutional framework and an aesthetic.
The eleven stripes represent the signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence. The single star? That's the only truly independent African state at the time (styled as the "Lonesome Star"). Honestly, if you saw it fluttering from a distance, you’d need a second to realize it wasn't the U.S. flag. The proportions are almost identical.
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Malaysia’s Jalur Gemilang: A Common Misconception
Then there's Malaysia. People often assume Malaysia copied the U.S., but the history is a bit more nuanced. The Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory) has 14 red and white stripes and a blue canton. But look inside that blue box. You’ll find a yellow crescent and a 14-point star.
The yellow is the royal color of the Malay Rulers. The crescent represents Islam.
Interestingly, some historians point out that both the U.S. flag and the Malaysian flag might actually share a common ancestor: the British East India Company flag. That flag had red and white stripes with a Union Jack in the corner. When the U.S. was figuring out its identity, they swapped the Union Jack for stars. When Malaysia was designing its flag in 1950, they went with symbols that reflected their own sovereignty. It’s a case of parallel evolution.
The Lone Star of Chile
Chile’s La Estrella Solitaria is older than most people realize. It was adopted in 1817. It has two horizontal bands—white on top, red on the bottom—and a blue square with a single star.
Does it look like the American flag? Sorta. Especially if you’re looking at the Texas state flag, which is almost a mirror image. In fact, there’s a recurring internet myth that the Texas flag was inspired by Chile, or vice versa. The truth is they were both just leaning into the "Enlightenment" vibe of the era. The star represents a guide to progress and honor, while the colors represent the sky, the snow of the Andes, and the blood spilled for independence.
Why Do All These Flags Have Stripes?
Stripes are a nightmare to sew by hand, but they look great in the wind.
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Beyond the U.S., many countries used stripes to signal a break from monarchy. In the 1700s and 1800s, solid colors or complex coats of arms usually meant "King." Stripes and stars meant "People."
Take Uruguay. Their flag has nine azure blue stripes on a white background. In the corner? A golden "Sun of May." While the colors are different, the layout—the canton and the repeating horizontal bars—is a direct nod to the U.S. and French revolutionary ideals. They wanted people to see their flag and think: Democracy.
The Odd Case of Brittany (Gwenn-ha-du)
You wouldn't expect a region in France to have a flag that looks like it belongs in the Midwest. But the Gwenn-ha-du, the flag of Brittany, is a trip. It has black and white stripes and a canton filled with ermine spots (which look like little black tassels).
Morvan Marchal, the guy who designed it in 1925, was explicitly inspired by the American and Greek flags. He saw them as symbols of liberty. Even though it’s black and white, the visual rhythm is so similar to the U.S. flag that it frequently confuses tourists in Western France.
Greece and the Blue-and-White
Greece is another one. Nine horizontal stripes of blue and white, with a white cross on a blue field in the corner.
The number nine is said to represent the syllables in the Greek phrase "Eleftheria i Thanatos" (Freedom or Death). While the color palette is strictly Mediterranean, the structure is undeniably influenced by the American naval ensign. During the Greek War of Independence, the U.S. was seen as the "ideal" republic. Choosing a similar flag layout was a way of saying, "We're with them."
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Why This Matters for Your Brain
Human eyes are built for pattern recognition. We see "Red/White Stripes + Blue Box" and our brain shortcuts to the most famous version of that pattern.
But every one of these flags represents a specific, often bloody, struggle for identity.
- Liberia is about the complex return of a diaspora.
- Malaysia is about the unification of 14 states under a common faith and royalty.
- Greece is about a 400-year struggle against Ottoman rule.
When you see flags that look like the American flag, you aren't just seeing "copycats." You're seeing the "Open Source" era of 18th and 19th-century revolution. The U.S. provided a visual template for what a "new" country should look like, and the rest of the world tweaked it to fit their own soul.
How to Tell Them Apart Quickly
If you want to be the person at the bar or the classroom who actually knows their stuff, look at the canton (the box in the corner).
- Is it a single star? It’s probably Liberia (if it has stripes) or Chile (if it’s just two big blocks of color).
- Is there a crescent moon? That’s Malaysia.
- Are the colors blue and white only? That’s Greece.
- Are there weird black shapes that look like bowling pins? That’s the flag of Brittany.
- Does it have a sun with a face? You're looking at Uruguay.
Flags are basically the original logos. They have to be simple enough for a child to draw but meaningful enough for a soldier to die for. The reason so many flags look like the American flag is simply that the U.S. got to the "Liberty" branding first, and it was a very popular brand to buy into.
Next time you're watching a global event, don't just assume a flag is American because of the stripes. Look at the icons in the corner. Those little details tell the story of how that specific nation wanted the world to see them—often as brothers in arms with the idea of independence, but with a culture all their own.
Keep a list of these differences in your notes or a bookmarks folder. It’s one of those bits of "useless" knowledge that actually makes the world feel a lot smaller and more connected once you understand the "why" behind the design.
Check out the official CIA World Factbook or the Flags of the World (FOTW) database if you want to see the specific hex codes and historical iterations of these designs. You'll find that even the shades of blue used in these flags are often chosen to distinguish them from the "Old Glory" navy blue. It's all in the details.