Flag of South Sudan

Meaning and history of the flag of South Sudan

The flag of South Sudan has three horizontal stripes of black, red, and green, separated by thin white stripes. At the hoist is a blue triangle containing a yellow five-pointed star. It is a richly colored flag combining six distinct colors.

It was adopted on July 9, 2011, the day South Sudan gained independence, making it one of the newest national flags in the world. Black represents the people of South Sudan, red symbolizes the blood shed during the long civil war for independence, green embodies the country's natural wealth, white represents the peace achieved after the conflict, blue symbolizes the waters of the Nile River, vital to the country, and the yellow star is the "Star of Bethlehem," representing the unity of the states that make up the nation. The design is based on the flag of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, which led the independence struggle. It bears a notable resemblance to the flag of Kenya, with which it shares colors and overall layout.

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