Seeing the World through Maps: The Effectiveness of Map Knowledge in Flag Recognition.

This study investigates students' knowledge of political maps used in flags, focusing on cartographic vexillology—the analysis of geographic representations on flags. Undergraduate students at the National University of Singapore completed a six-item questionnaire assessing their ability to identify countries by map outlines, recognize the Korean Unification Flag, the historic flag of Bangladesh, flags containing maps, and common themes among flags with maps. Results showed high recognition of Singapore’s map (92%) but low recognition of smaller or less familiar countries like Brunei (12%), limited identification of the Korean Unification Flag (19%) and Bangladesh’s historic flag (31%), and only 13% correctly identified flags with maps. Participants commonly associated maps on flags with the theme of geographic location, suggesting that maps serve as georeferencing symbols in vexillology. The study highlights the need for greater exposure to cartographic flags and suggests further research to explore cultural and educational factors influencing map and flag recognition.