It came into force on 26 January 1950, celebrated as Republic Day.
Wacky Facts
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Japan has more than 14,000 islands.
A 2023 recount raised the official number to over 14,000 islands.
Bangladesh’s flag red disc is set slightly off-centre.
It sits a little towards the hoist so it appears centred when the flag flies.
France has the most time zones of any country.
Thanks to overseas territories, France spans 12 time zones.
1960Sri Lanka had the world’s first female prime minister.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike became prime minister in 1960.
Mongolia has more horses than people.
Mongolia has more than 4 million horses and about 3.5 million people.
Switzerland and Vatican City have square flags.
They are the only two sovereign states with square national flags.
Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness.
The idea was introduced by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in the 1970s and is part of government policy.
Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands.
It is the world’s largest archipelago country.
Canada’s coastline is the longest in the world.
Including its many islands, it is more than 200,000 km long.
Iceland has no mosquitoes.
Its climate and freeze-thaw cycles seem to prevent mosquitoes from establishing, though they live in nearby countries.
Nepal’s flag is not a rectangle.
It is made of two stacked triangles (pennants) — the only non-rectangular national flag.
1947The Ashoka Chakra on India’s flag has 24 spokes.
The navy-blue wheel represents the wheel of law; the flag was adopted on 22 July 1947.
Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan are doubly landlocked.
Each is surrounded only by other landlocked countries.
Denmark’s flag is the oldest in continuous use.
The Dannebrog dates back to at least the 14th century.