Flag of Rwanda

Meaning and history of the flag of Rwanda

The flag of Rwanda, adopted on October 25, 2001, features three horizontal stripes of unequal width: blue, the widest, occupying the top half, followed by yellow and green. A golden sun with twenty-four rays sits in the upper fly corner. This design replaced the earlier flag, which bore a large black letter "R" on the pan-African colors, following the 1994 genocide.

The new flag was conceived as a symbol of national renewal and reconciliation. Blue represents happiness and peace, yellow symbolizes economic development, and green embodies hope and the prosperity drawn from the country's natural resources. The golden sun with its twenty-four rays stands for enlightenment, transparency, and the fight against ignorance. Changing the flag was a deliberate move to break with the country's tragic past and project an image of unity and hope. It is one of the few national flags to place a sun in the upper fly corner rather than the hoist.

You can view the flag of Rwanda in high resolution above and download it in several sizes for personal, educational or reference use. To explore more, visit the full Rwanda profile, its map, or the current local time in Kigali.