---
title: "Flag of South Africa: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the South Africa flag stands for, its official 2:3 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/south-africa/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of South Africa

**The flag of South Africa: A green horizontal Y laid on its side, outlined in white and gold, separating a red band above and a blue band below, with a black triangle at the hoist inside the Y.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1994

*[Flag drawn on the page: South Africa]*

South Africa is the country that most firmly refuses to say what its flag means: the official government position is that no universal symbolism attaches to the colours, and that the convergence of the Y is the only intended message — separate paths joining and continuing forward together. Popular readings assign the red, white and blue to the European settler flags and the black, green and gold to the ANC, which is historically accurate about where the colours came from and still not the official reading. It has six colours, more than any other flag except Belize's and South Sudan's. Designed by the state herald Frederick Brownell in a week, it was intended as an interim flag for five years and was made permanent in the 1996 constitution.

## What the colours mean

*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.*

- **Green** (#007A4D) — No official meaning is assigned
- **Gold** (#FFB612) — No official meaning is assigned
- **Red** (#DE3831) — No official meaning is assigned
- **Blue** (#002395) — No official meaning is assigned
- **Black** (#000000) — No official meaning is assigned
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — No official meaning is assigned

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 1994
- **Colours:** green, gold, red, blue, black, white

## Common questions

### What does the flag of South Africa look like?

A green horizontal Y laid on its side, outlined in white and gold, separating a red band above and a blue band below, with a black triangle at the hoist inside the Y.

### What do the colours of the South Africa flag mean?

Green: no official meaning is assigned. Gold: no official meaning is assigned. Red: no official meaning is assigned. Blue: no official meaning is assigned. Black: no official meaning is assigned. White: no official meaning is assigned.

### When was the South Africa flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1994, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Every flag with green in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/green/)
- [The flag of India](https://atoneplace.net/flag/india/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)
- [The flag of Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/flag/mexico/)
- [The flag of Ireland](https://atoneplace.net/flag/ireland/)
- [The flag of Jamaica](https://atoneplace.net/flag/jamaica/)
- [The flag of Pakistan](https://atoneplace.net/flag/pakistan/)
- [The flag of Palestine](https://atoneplace.net/flag/palestine/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)