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The civil ensign (a.k.a. merchant flag or merchant ensign) is the national flag flown by civil ships (merchant ships and others) to denote nationality. A national flag is a flag that symbolises a country and that can usually be flown by citizens of that country. ...
Beside the naval ensign the civil ensign is one of the two original types of the national flag. In most countries there was originally no distinction between the flag for armed state ships (navy) and civilian-owned, unarmed ships (merchant marine). Until today a lot of countries follow the practice of e.g. the USA and France in having only one flag for all or most purposes of the national flag. A naval ensign is the flag used by a countrys navy on their ships. ...
The multinational Combined Task Force One Five Zero (CTF-150) The British Grand Fleet, the supreme naval force of WW1 A rare occurrence of a 5-country multinational fleet, during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. ...
In several countries, however, this distinction has developed and was later adopted by other countries as well. Most notable for the elaborate flag system is the United Kingdom, that has (inter alia) the Red Ensign for civilian ships and the White Ensign for the Royal Navy. The Red Ensign, as currently used by the United Kingdoms Merchant Navy The Red Ensign is a flag that originated in the early 1600s as an ensign flown by the Royal Navy. ...
The White Ensign. ...
The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services being the oldest of its three branches. ...
Countries having specific civil ensigns The civil ensigns that are different from the "general" national flag, can be grouped in five main categories.
Red Ensigns after the British pattern These are red flags with, in most cases, the respective national flag in the canton, patterned after the British Red Ensign. British overseas territories either fly the plain Red Ensign or a Red Ensign with the respective colonial arms in the fly. The Red Ensign, as currently used by the United Kingdoms Merchant Navy The Red Ensign is a flag that originated in the early 1600s as an ensign flown by the Royal Navy. ...
The canton of a flag is the top inner quarter of a flag. ...
The Red Ensign, as currently used by the United Kingdoms Merchant Navy The Red Ensign is a flag that originated in the early 1600s as an ensign flown by the Royal Navy. ...
Location of the British overseas territories (British Antarctic Territory and Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus not shown) The British overseas territories are 14 territories throughout the world that are under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom (UK). ...
| United Kingdom[1]
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom. ...
| | Guernsey
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Guernsey. ...
| Isle of Man
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_Isle_of_Man. ...
| | British Virgin Is.
 Flag ratio: 1:2 Flag of the Governor of the British Virgin Islands The Flag of the British Virgin Islands was adopted on November 15, 1960. ...
Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_British_Virgin_Islands. ...
| Falkland Is.
 Flag ratio: 1:2 Civil ensign; Flag ratio: 1:2 Governor of the Falkland Islands flag Malvinas Flag according to Argentina The Flag of the Falkland Islands was adopted on September 29, 1948. ...
Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_Falkland_Islands. ...
| Gibraltar
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Gibraltar. ...
| Cayman Is.
 Flag Ratio: 1:2 The flag of the Cayman Islands was adopted in 1959. ...
Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_Cayman_Islands. ...
| Turks and Caicos Is.
 Flag ratio: 1:2 The flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands is similar to the flags of other British dependencies and colonies as it has the Union Flag in the upper hoist-side corner. ...
Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_Turks_and_Caicos_Islands. ...
| | Australia[2]
 Image File history File links Australian-Merchant-Ensign. ...
| Bahamas
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_Bahamas. ...
| Bangladesh
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Bangladesh. ...
| Fiji
 Image File history File links Fiji-Merchant-Ensign. ...
| Ghana
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Ghana. ...
| India
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_India. ...
| | Malaysia
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Malaysia. ...
| Mauritius
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Mauritius. ...
| New Zealand
 Image File history File links New-Zealand-Merchant-Ensign. ...
| Pakistan
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Pakistan. ...
| Solomon Is.
 ??? Flag ratio: 1:2 This is the national flag of the Solomon Islands. ...
Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_Solomon_Islands. ...
| United Arab Emirates[3]
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates. ...
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Civil ensign very different from the national flag Several countries have civil ensign that are very different from the national flag, for instance Malta and Luxembourg. | Albania
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Albania. ...
| Israel
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Israel. ...
| Luxembourg
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Luxembourg. ...
| Malta
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Malta. ...
| Singapore
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Singapore. ...
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Civil ensigns consisting of the national flag with an additional emblem Well-known examples are the Italian civil ensign showing the shield with the arms of the sea republics or the Polish civil ensign with the arms of Poland. Most of these emblems were added to distinguish the ensign from similar flags of other countries. The flag of Italy, 2:3 The flag of Italy (often referred to in Italian as Il Tricolore) is a tricolor featuring three equally sized vertical bands of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side. ...
Flag of Poland, proportions 5:8 Civil and State ensign of Poland, proportions 5:8 The Civil Flag of Poland has been used since the early 20th century. ...
| Colombia
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Colombia. ...
| El Salvador
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_El_Salvador. ...
| Italy
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Italy. ...
| Morocco[4]
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Morocco. ...
| Poland
 Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ...
| Saudi Arabia
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Saudi_Arabia. ...
| Taiwan[5]
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_the_Republic_of_China. ...
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Simplified national flags In several (mostly Latin American) countries there are two main versions of the flag, a simpler one (usually a striped flag) and a more elaborated one with the national arms. The simpler one is used as civil ensign (and in most cases also as civil flag), whereas the version with the arms is mainly used by the government and the military. Interestingly this is similar to the practice in Germany, Austria and Spain. | Austria
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ...
| Bolivia
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Bolivia. ...
| Costa Rica
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Costa_Rica. ...
| Dominican Rep.
 Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Dominican_Republic_merchant_ensign. ...
| Ecuador
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Ecuador. ...
| | Germany
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ...
| Guatemala
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Guatemala. ...
| Haiti
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Haiti_civil. ...
| Peru
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Peru. ...
| Spain[6]
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain_(civil_variant). ...
| Venezuela
 Image File history File links Flag_of_Venezuela. ...
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Civil ensigns differing from the national flag in the proportions Several former British colonies use 1:2 as a proportion for their ensigns, whereas 3:5 is used for flags ashore. The countries of former Yugoslavia have it the other way round: the ensigns are 2:3, flags ashore are 1:2. Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages, in Serbian and Macedonian Cyrillic ЈугоÑлавија) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ...
| Croatia
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Croatia. ...
| Grenada
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Grenada. ...
| Guyana
 Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_Guyana. ...
| Serbia and Montenegro
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro. ...
| Slovenia
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Slovenia. ...
| Switzerland[7]
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Switzerland. ...
| Trinidad and Tobago
 Image File history File links Civil_Ensign_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago. ...
| Remarks - ^ the plain red ensign is also used in Jersey, Anguilla, British Indian Ocean Territory, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena
- ^ the Australian national flag is also used for smaller ships
- ^ The UAE national flag is also reported as civil ensign
- ^ the Moroccan national flag is also reported as civil ensign
- ^ the national flag of the R.O.C. is also reported as civil ensign
- ^ the Spanish national flag with arms is also used as civil ensign
- ^ the Swiss flag in square format is used on most rivers and lakes
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