Flag of South Africa

Flag of South Africa

Construction sheet: Flag of South Africa
Construction sheet

Description

  • A horizontal Y-shape in green with white and gold borders, dividing a red upper half and blue lower half with a black triangle at the hoist
  • Adopted on 27 April 1994 during the first fully inclusive elections

Trivia

  • The colours represent the rainbow nation concept of post-apartheid South Africa
  • The 'Y' shape represents the convergence of different peoples and cultures
  • South Africa adopted this flag in 1994 to symbolise the end of apartheid and new democracy

Flag of South Africa

South Africa's flag was designed by Frederick Brownell and adopted on 27 April 1994 during the nation's historic first democratic election. The flag features a horizontal Y-shape in green, dividing a red upper field and blue lower field with a black triangle at the hoist, all bordered by narrow white and gold stripes.

Remarkably, it contains six colours — the most of any national flag. Three colours derive from the old South African Republic flag, while three come from the African National Congress flag. The Y-shape symbolizes the convergence of diverse elements within South African society. Originally intended as temporary, it became so popular it was made permanent.

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  "ns": "south-africa",
  "name": "South Africa",
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  "index": "c/south-africa",
  "title": "Flag of South Africa",
  "ratio": "2:3",
  "use": {
    "as": "national flag",
    "since": "1994-04-27"
  },
  "colors": [
    {
      "color": "red",
      "hex": "#DE3831",
      "cmyk": "0/100/90/0",
      "note": "Represents sacrifice",
      "pantone": "179 C"
    },
    {
      "color": "blue",
      "hex": "#002395",
      "cmyk": "100/65/0/30",
      "note": "Represents the sky and unity",
      "pantone": "Reflex Blue C"
    },
    {
      "color": "green",
      "hex": "#007A4D",
      "cmyk": "100/0/85/40",
      "note": "Represents the land and natural heritage",
      "pantone": "3415 C"
    },
    {
      "color": "yellow",
      "hex": "#FFB612",
      "cmyk": "0/25/80/0",
      "note": "Represents mineral wealth",
      "pantone": "1235 C"
    },
    {
      "color": "black",
      "hex": "#000000",
      "cmyk": "0/0/0/100",
      "note": "Represents the African people",
      "pantone": "Black"
    },
    {
      "color": "white",
      "hex": "#FFFFFF",
      "cmyk": "0/0/0/0",
      "note": "Represents peace and unity"
    }
  ],
  "desc": "- A horizontal Y-shape in green with white and gold borders, dividing a red upper half and blue lower half with a black triangle at the hoist\n - Adopted on 27 April 1994 during the first fully inclusive elections",
  "article": "south-africa/flag.md",
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    "officialName": "Republic of South Africa",
    "un": "member"
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  "trivia": "- The colours represent the rainbow nation concept of post-apartheid South Africa\n - The 'Y' shape represents the convergence of different peoples and cultures\n - South Africa adopted this flag in 1994 to symbolise the end of apartheid and new democracy",
  "flag": "south-africa/flag.svg",
  "_name": "South Africa",
  "_namespace": "south-africa",
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}
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