The national flag of Moldova is a vertical tricolour of blue, yellow, and red, charged with the coat of arms of Moldova (an eagle holding a shield charged with an aurochs) on the centre bar on the obverse side only. The blue, red, and yellow tricolour of Moldova are almost identical to the flag of Romania, reflecting the two countries' cultural affinity. On Moldova's flag, the yellow stripe is charged with the national arms. Like the Romanian coat of arms, the Moldovan arms, adopted in 1990, features a golden eagle holding an Orthodox Christian cross in its beak. Instead of a sword, the eagle is holding an olive branch, symbolising peace. The blue and red shield on the eagle's breast is also different- on it are an aurochs head, a star, a rose, and a crescent, all traditional symbols of Moldova. These two flags are also very similar to the flags of Chad, Andorra, and the flag of Queen's University in Ontario, Canada which is all based on vertical stripes of blue, yellow, and red.
Along with the flag of Paraguay, the flag of Moldova is one of the few national flags with differing obverse and reverse sides. Although the reverse of the flag is officially stated as not containing any coat of arms, Moldovan flags with a backwards version of the coat of arms printed on the reverse are also used.
Wallachia and Moldova have, in the past, been partially united and culturally similar, as such the flags of Romania and Republic of Moldova are also similar. The flag of Moldova was created in 1990 and is based on the Romanian colours. Indeed, the reverse side differs from Romania's in proportion, and by a lighter blue.