Editing National flag (section)

===On land===
On land, there is a distinction between [[civil flag]]s ([[International Federation of Vexillological Associations|FIAV]] symbol [[File:FIAV 100000.svg|23px]]), [[state flag]]s ([[File:FIAV 010000.svg|23px]]), and [[war flag|war or military flags]] ([[File:FIAV 001000.svg|23px]]). '''Civil flags''' may be flown by anyone regardless of whether they are linked to government, whereas '''state flags''' are those used officially by government agencies. '''War flags''' (also called '''military flags''') are used by military organizations such as Armies, Marine Corps, or Air Forces.

In practice, many countries (such as the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]]) have identical flags for these three purposes; '''national flag''' is sometimes used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag ([[File:FIAV 111000.svg|23px]]). In a number of countries, however, and notably those in [[Latin America]], there is a distinct difference between civil and state flags. In most cases, the civil flag is a simplified version of the state flag, with the difference often being the presence of a coat of arms on the state flag that is absent from the civil flag.

Very few countries use a war flag that differs from the state flag. [[Flag of the Republic of China|Taiwan]], [[Flag of Japan|Japan]], and [[Flag of the People's Republic of China|China]] are notable examples of this. [[Swallowtail (flag)|Swallow-tailed flags]] are used as war flags and naval ensigns in [[Nordic countries]] and charged versions as presidential or royal standards. The [[Philippines]] does not have a distinctive war flag in this usual sense, but the [[flag of the Philippines]] is legally unique in that it is flown with the red stripe on top when the country is in a state of war, rather than the conventional blue.
<gallery class="center">
Flag of Austria.svg|[[Civil flag]] of [[Austria]]
Flag of Austria (state).svg|[[State flag]] of [[Austria]]
Flag of the Republic of China.svg|[[Flag of Taiwan]]
</gallery>