The current flag of

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

( ar, علم السودان, ʿalam as-Sūdān) was adopted on 20 May 1970 and consists of a horizontal red-white-black tricolour with a green triangle at the hoist. The flag is based on the Arab Liberation Flag of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, as are the flags of Egypt, Iraq,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, Yemen, and

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and formerly of the United Arab Republic, North Yemen,

South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

, and the Libyan Arab Republic. Whereas there is no fixed order for the Pan-Arab Colours of black, white, red, and green, flags using the Arab Liberation Colours (a subset of the Pan-Arab Colours) maintain a horizontal triband of equal stripes of red, white, and black, with green being used to distinguish the different flags from each other by way of green stars, Arabic script, or, in the case of Sudan, the green triangle along the hoist. In the original Arab Liberation Flag, green was used in the form of the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan emblazoned on the breast of the Eagle of Saladin in the middle stripe. For 13 years from Sudan's independence in 1956 to the 1969 military coup of Gaafar Nimeiry, Sudan used a tricolour flag of blue-yellow-green.

Design

Symbolism

According to ''World Flags 101'':

Construction Sheet

Colors scheme

Government and armed forces flags

Government flags

File:Presidential Standard of Sudan.svg, Flag of the President of Sudan

Armed forces flags

File:Air Force Ensign of Sudan.svg, Air Force ensign

Historical flags

Flag Of El-Mahadia

In 1881, at the beginning of the El-Mahadia War, El-Mahadi Muhammad Ahmad appointed Abdallahi (altaeayushi) ibn Muhammad as one of his four caliphs (''Khalifa'') and handed him a black flag. Abdallahi used his black flag to recruit Baggara Arabs and other tribes from the west. The other caliphs used differently coloured flags. The black horizontal stripe in the current Sudanese flag is a reference to this Mahdist-era black flag. File:Flag of the Mahdi movement in Sudan.svg, Flag used during the Mahdist Revolt and in Mahdist Sudan (1881–1899) File:Banner, declaration of faith and allegiance to Allah. Sudanese Mahdist Army, Omdurman, 1889. The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Given by Miss Victoria MacBean.jpg, Banner used by the Mahdist Army; captured at

Omdurman Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the ...

in 1898. File:Black flag.svg, The black standard was also used in Mahdist Sudan

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

Between 1899 and 1956, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was administered jointly as a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

by Egypt and the United Kingdom. The condominium did not have its own flag; instead the flag of Egypt and the

flag of the United Kingdom The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag. The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801 which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in pe ...

were always flown together, with the British flag taking precedence. A flag did exist as a rank flag for the British Governor General of the Sudan. In common with the rank flags of governors and commissioners of other British overseas territories, it consisted of a Union Flag defaced with a white disk bearing the territory's badge or coat of arms, surrounded by a wreath of laurel. As no badge or coat of arms existed for Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the disk instead contained the words "GOVERNOR GENERAL OF THE SUDAN". At the Afro–Asian Conference held between 18 and 24 April 1955, Sudan was represented by a white flag bearing the name "SUDAN" in red capital letters. File:Flag of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1914–1922).png, Flags used in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1914–1922) File:Flag of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.svg, Flags used in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1922–1956) File:Flag of the Governor-General of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.svg, Flag of the British Governor General File:Flag of the Sudan Defense Force (1925-1956).svg, Flag of the

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a locally recruited British-led force formed in 1925 to assist the police in the event of civil unrest, and to maintain the borders of British administered Sudan. During the Second World War, it also served bey ...

(1925–1956) File:Flag of Sudan (Bandung Conference).svg, Provisional flag of Sudan used during the Afro-Asian Conference (April 1955)

Republic of Sudan (1956–1969)

Upon independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom on 1 January 1956, Sudan adopted a blue-yellow-green tricolour as its national flag. This flag was designed by the poet Macki Sufi and remained in use until 1970, when the current flag was adopted. The colours of the flag represented the River Nile (blue), the Sahara (yellow) and farmlands (green). They were chosen as they were neutral between ethnic groups and political parties. Use of this flag resurfaced during the

2018–19 Sudanese protests The Sudanese Revolution was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 Sudane ...

. File:Flag India.svg, Flag of the Republic of Indian Sudan 1947-1956 File:Flag of Sudan (1956–1970).svg, Flag of the Republic of the Sudan (1956–1969) File:Naval Ensign of Sudan (1956-1970).svg, Naval ensign (1956–1970) File:Ensign of the Sudanese Customs Service (1956-1970).svg, Customs ensign (1956–1970)

Democratic Republic of the Sudan (1969–1985)

Following a coup d'état in May 1969, the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Sudan and a competition was held to design a new flag. The winning entry was designed by artist Abdel Rahman Ahmed Al-Jali based on pan-Arab colors and was adopted as the national flag in May 1970. File:Flag of Sudan (1956–1970).svg, Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan (1969–1970) File:Flag of Sudan.svg, Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan (1970–1985) File:Standard of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan (variant).svg, Standard of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan.

Former provincial flags

File:Flag of North Kurdufan.svg, Kordofan

Sub-national flags

Some of the

states of Sudan Below is a list of the 18 states of the Sudan (Arabic names are in parentheses). Prior to 9 July 2011, the Republic of the Sudan was composed of 25 states. The ten southern states now form part of the independent country of South Sudan. Two addi ...

have adopted their own distinctive flags. These usually consist of the state’s emblem displayed on a white or coloured background.

States

Flag of Blue Nile State.png, Blue Nile State Flag of Central Darfur State.png, Central Darfur Flag of North Darfur State.png, North Darfur Flag of South Darfur State.png, South Darfur Flag of West Darfur State.png, West Darfur File:Flag of Kassala State.png, Kassala State Flag of Khartoum State.png, Khartoum State Flag of Al Qadarif State.png,

Al Qadarif State Al Qadarif ( '), also spelt ''Gadaref'' or ''Gadarif'', is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 75,263 km2 and an estimated population of approximately 1,400,000 (2000). Al Qadarif is the capital of the state; other to ...

Administrative areas

Flag of the Abyei Area.png,

Abyei Area The Abyei Area ( ar, منطقة أبيي) is an area of on the border between South Sudan and the Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sudan, Flag of Flags introduced in 1970

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Flags of Africa