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The flag of Eswatini

The flag of Eswatini
Blue bands top and bottom with a wide crimson band between them edged in yellow, carrying a black-and-white Nguni shield laid horizontally over two spears and a staff hung with feather tassels.
Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1968

The shield is laid horizontally, which is rare, and its black-and-white halves are the flag's stated symbol of racial coexistence. The design derives from a military standard given to the Swazi Pioneer Corps in 1941 and was adopted at independence in 1968. The feather tassels are royal regalia and their inclusion ties the flag directly to the monarchy. The country was renamed from Swaziland to Eswatini in 2018 without any change to the flag.

What the colours mean

  • Blue #3E5EB9 Peace and stability
  • Yellow #FFD900 The mineral resources of the country
  • Crimson #B10C0C Past battles
  • Black #000000 On the shield, the black and white together stand for racial coexistence
  • White #FFFFFF The other half of the shield

Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.

The symbols on it

What What it stands for
Nguni shield and spears Protection from the country's enemies
Injobo tassels Bunches of feathers of the widowbird and the lourie, worn only by the king
Ratio
2:3
Current design adopted
1968
Colours
blue, yellow, crimson, black, white

Common questions

What does the flag of Eswatini look like?
Blue bands top and bottom with a wide crimson band between them edged in yellow, carrying a black-and-white Nguni shield laid horizontally over two spears and a staff hung with feather tassels.
What do the colours of the Eswatini flag mean?
Blue: peace and stability. Yellow: the mineral resources of the country. Crimson: past battles. Black: on the shield, the black and white together stand for racial coexistence. White: the other half of the shield.
When was the Eswatini flag adopted?
The current design dates from 1968, and its official ratio is 2:3.

Related pages

Sources

  1. The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))

How these figures are compiled and checked