Green, Yellow and Black Flags

Which countries have green, yellow and black flags?

Jamaica's flag is a gold diagonal cross dividing the field into four triangles: green at the top and bottom, black at the sides. It was adopted at independence in 1962 and is the only national flag with no red, white or blue.

The other flags with all three colors are:

• Tanzania: green and blue triangles split by a black band edged in yellow.
• Vanuatu: red and green with a black triangle and a yellow Y-shaped band.
• Zimbabwe: seven stripes of green, yellow, red and black with a white triangle and a red star.
• Guyana: the Golden Arrowhead, a green field with a gold triangle, a white border and a black-edged red triangle.
• Dominica: a green field with a cross of yellow, white and black stripes and a red disc with a parrot.
• St. Kitts & Nevis: green and red triangles divided by a black band with two white stars.
• South Africa: a sideways Y joining six colors.

What do green, yellow and black mean?

On Jamaica's flag, black stands for the hardships faced, gold for sunshine and natural wealth, and green for hope and agriculture. The colors link to the Pan-African palette used across the Caribbean and Africa.

Tanzania's flag, adopted in 1964 when Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged, uses green for the land, yellow for minerals, black for the people and blue for the sea and lakes. Vanuatu's Y shape represents the islands spread out across the Pacific, and its black stands for the Melanesian people.

Black, gold and green are also strongly tied to Caribbean and African independence movements. Several of these flags were designed within a few years of independence, and they reuse the same symbolic palette.