Blue, Yellow and Black Flags
Barbados is the only flag that uses just blue, yellow and black. Antigua & Barbuda, Eswatini and South Africa include these colors with others.
Flags that are only blue, yellow and black (1)
Flags with blue, yellow and black and other colors (3)
Which countries have blue, yellow and black flags?
The Barbados flag has three vertical bands: ultramarine, gold and ultramarine, with the black head of a trident in the center. It was adopted at independence on 30 November 1966. The blue stands for sea and sky, the gold for sand, and the black trident is taken from the old colonial badge. The shaft was removed to show a break with the past.
Three more flags contain all three colors, along with more:
- Antigua & Barbuda: red field with a V-shaped wedge of black, blue and white, and a rising yellow sun. Black stands for African ancestry, and the sun for a new era.
- Eswatini: blue, yellow, crimson, yellow, blue bands with a black and white shield and two spears. The black and white of the shield refer to the coexistence of black and white people.
- South Africa: a Y-shape of green flanked by black, yellow, white, red and blue. It was adopted in 1994.
To tell them apart quickly, remember that Barbados is blue and gold, Eswatini has a crimson center band, Antigua is red, and South Africa is the one with the sideways Y.
Why do these flags share the same colors?
Three of the four flags were designed as new national symbols in the 1960s. Barbados became independent in 1966 and Eswatini (then Swaziland) in 1968, and Antigua & Barbuda chose its flag in 1967 and kept it at independence in 1981. South Africa chose its flag in 1994, after the end of apartheid.
Black generally stands for the people of African descent, and blue and yellow for the Caribbean sea and sun in Antigua & Barbuda and Barbados. In Eswatini, the Nguni shield made of ox hide refers to the traditional regiment of the kingdom. The coincidence is mostly a matter of shared themes: sea, sun and African identity.
See also all flags by color for other combinations.
Frequently asked questions
What country has a blue, yellow and black flag?
Barbados. It has two ultramarine bands, a gold band between them and a black trident head.
What does the black trident on the Barbados flag mean?
The trident comes from the island's colonial badge and represents Barbados's link to the sea. Its broken shaft marks the break with colonial rule.
Which other flags have blue, yellow and black?
Antigua & Barbuda, Eswatini and South Africa, though each also uses red, white or other colors.
What flag has a black Y shape?
South Africa. The Y joins the colors that met when the flag was adopted in 1994.