Flag of South Africa

Meaning and history of the flag of South Africa

The flag of South Africa is one of the most colorful in the world, using six colors: red, white, blue, black, green, and yellow. It features a horizontal "Y" shape (known in vexillology as a pall) in green with white edging, which opens toward the hoist and merges into a single horizontal band toward the fly. The triangle at the hoist is black with a yellow border, the upper band is red, and the lower band is blue.

Designed by Frederick Brownell, it was adopted on April 27, 1994, to coincide with the country's first democratic, multiracial elections and the end of apartheid. Although no official meaning is assigned to each individual color, the three colors of the "Y" (black, green, and yellow) come from the flag of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress, while the red, white, and blue evoke the flags of the former Boer republics and the British presence. The converging "Y" shape symbolizes the coming together of South Africa's diverse peoples on a shared path toward the future. Originally conceived as a temporary design, it was so well received that it was made permanent.

You can view the flag of South Africa in high resolution above and download it in several sizes for personal, educational or reference use. To explore more, visit the full South Africa profile, its map, or the current local time in Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial).