Flag of South Africa
The South Africa flag has six colors: red and blue stripes, a green horizontal Y-shaped band with white edges, and a black triangle with a gold border. Adopted on 27 April 1994, it was designed to show a country coming together.
What the flag of South Africa looks like
The flag of South Africa is made of a horizontal Y shape, or pall, that opens toward the hoist and then runs as a single band to the fly. The upper part of the field is red, the lower part is blue, and the Y itself is green with a thin white border on each side. At the hoist, a black triangle is edged with a narrow gold (yellow) band. The ratio is 2:3.
The flag is unusual in several ways. It does not have a coat of arms or any symbol such as a star or cross, and it uses six colors, which is more than almost any other national flag. The shape of the Y is also rare among flags.
You can see a small version on the South Africa flag emoji page, or use the download page for image files.
South Africa flag colors
Color codes measured from the official design. Use HEX for the web and CMYK for print.
HEX
#007749RGB
0, 119, 73CMYK
100, 0, 39, 53 HEX
#E03C31RGB
224, 60, 49CMYK
0, 73, 78, 12 HEX
#001489RGB
0, 20, 137CMYK
100, 85, 0, 46 HEX
#FFFFFFRGB
255, 255, 255CMYK
0, 0, 0, 0 HEX
#000000RGB
0, 0, 0CMYK
0, 0, 0, 100 HEX
#FFB81CRGB
255, 184, 28CMYK
0, 28, 89, 0 South African flag meaning and symbolism
The designer, Frederick Brownell, said that the flag has no official meaning for each color. What the flag as a whole was meant to show is the coming together of the different groups in South Africa. The Y shape is the strongest symbol: two streams join into one road that goes forward, and this is often described as the convergence of diverse elements in society, then moving ahead in unity.
Many people still give each color a meaning. Green is often linked to the land and agriculture, blue to the sky and the two oceans, white to peace, and black to the people. Yellow is linked to the country's mineral wealth, and red to the blood spilled in the struggle. These readings are unofficial, and different sources give different ones.
The colors also have a historical background. Black, green and gold are the colors of the African National Congress (ANC). Red, white and blue are found in the old flags of the Dutch and British colonial periods and the Boer republics. Putting these together was one way of giving every part of the population a place in the flag.
History of the South African flag
From 1928 until 1994, South Africa used a flag with three horizontal stripes of orange, white and blue, based on the old Dutch flag. In the center of the white stripe there were three small flags: the British Union Flag, and the flags of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. The flag was widely used under the apartheid system, and for many black South Africans it became a symbol of that system. The flag was nicknamed Oranje, Blanje, Blou.
When apartheid was ending, the country needed a new flag. A public competition drew thousands of designs, but none was accepted. In the end, the State Herald, Frederick Brownell, produced a design in a short time in early 1994. It was approved for temporary use, and it was first flown on 27 April 1994, the day of the first democratic elections. It was meant to be an interim flag, but it proved so popular that it was kept in the 1996 constitution.
There have been legal questions over the old flag since then. In 2019 a South African court ruled that the gratuitous display of the old flag is hate speech and a form of unfair discrimination, though it can be shown for artistic, academic or journalistic reasons.
South Africa flag facts
| Country | Republic of South Africa |
|---|---|
| Flag adopted | April 27, 1994 |
| Proportions | 2:3 |
| Colors | #007749, #E03C31, #001489, #FFFFFF, #000000, #FFB81C |
| Symbols | triangle, fess, fimbriation, field |
| Flag emoji | 🇿🇦 |
| Country code | ZA, ZAF (ISO 3166) |
| Capital | Pretoria, Cape Town |
| Continent | Africa |
| Population | 62,027,503 |
| Area | 1,221,037 km² |
| Currency | rand |
| National anthem | national anthem of Mzansi |
South Africa flag: frequently asked questions
What do the colors of the South African flag mean?
The colors have no official individual meaning. They are commonly read as green for the land, blue for the sky and oceans, red for blood, white for peace, black for the people and gold for mineral wealth. The Y shape stands for unity and moving forward together.
What was the old South African flag?
From 1928 to 1994 the flag had orange, white and blue horizontal stripes with the British Union Flag and two Boer republic flags in the white stripe. It was nicknamed the Oranje, Blanje, Blou.
Why did South Africa change its flag?
The old flag was linked to colonial rule and the apartheid system. A new flag was needed for the first democratic elections in 1994, and the current flag was introduced for that.
Who designed the South African flag?
Frederick Brownell, the State Herald at the time, designed it. It was first raised on 27 April 1994.
Is the apartheid flag illegal in South Africa?
It is not banned outright, but a 2019 court ruling said that gratuitous display of the old flag is hate speech. Showing it is still allowed for artistic, academic or journalistic purposes.
