Flag of Zambia

What the flag of Zambia looks like

The flag of the Republic of Zambia has a green field. In the lower right, at the fly end, is a rectangular block of three vertical stripes: red, black and orange from left to right. Above this block, an orange eagle flies with its wings spread. The ratio is 2:3.

The eagle is an African fish eagle, a bird that lives near lakes and rivers across southern Africa. The flag has four colors in all, and the eagle and the orange stripe share the same shade. Image files for the flag are on the Zambia flag download page, and the emoji is at /zambia/emoji/.

Because the stripes and eagle sit at the fly end, the left side of the flag is left as open green. This makes the flag easy to recognize even when it hangs limp or is seen from a distance. Green takes up about three quarters of the flag, a larger share than on most national flags.

Zambia flag meaning and symbolism

The commonly given meanings are:

• Green stands for the country's natural resources and vegetation.
• Red stands for the struggle for freedom.
• Black stands for the people of Zambia.
• Orange stands for the mineral wealth under the ground, especially copper.
• The eagle stands for freedom and the ability of the nation to rise above its problems.

History of the Zambia flag

The country was called Northern Rhodesia during the colonial era, after Cecil Rhodes, whose British South Africa Company governed the area from the 1890s. It became a British protectorate in 1924 and from 1953 to 1963 it was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Its flag was the British Blue Ensign with the colony's badge.

When independence came on 24 October 1964, Northern Rhodesia took the new name Zambia, from the Zambezi River, and raised the present flag. It has been in use ever since. The flag has stayed the same through every change of government since.

The date is marked each year as Independence Day, and in 1964 Kenneth Kaunda became the first president of the new republic.

A flag with an eagle

Few African flags feature a bird. Zambia's eagle is a reminder that the country's national symbols draw on its wildlife. For other designs see the Africa flags page.