The flag of Zambia is the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. It was adopted upon independence on 24 October 1964, by the first Republican President Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda. Before that, Zambia was the British protectorate of

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

and used a defaced

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or Defacement (flag), defaced with a Heraldic badge, ...

as its flag. The current flag is used as both

and

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. It is green with an orange-coloured

African fish eagle The African fish eagle (''Haliaeetus vocifer'') or the African sea eagle, is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Na ...

in flight over a rectangular block of three vertical stripes, coloured, from left to right: red, black and orange. The placement of the eagle and block of stripes at the flag's

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

is notable as most emblems and devices on flags are placed at centre or at the hoist. Green stands for the nation's lush flora, red for the nation's struggle for

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

, black for the Zambian people, and orange for the land's

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

and

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

wealth. Additionally, the

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

flying above the coloured stripes is intended to represent the people's ability to rise above the nation's problems. The Zambian flag was slightly modified in 1996. The shade of green used in the 1964 flag was replaced with brighter and lighter green and the eagle was slightly altered so as to be more like the one used in the Zambian coat of arms.

Design

The design of the national flag of Zambia is described in National Flag and Armorial Ensigns Act of 4 June 1965. Green with an orange coloured eagle in flight over a rectangular block of three vertical stripes coloured from left to right in red, black and orange; of overall dimensions 3:2; and to the following colour specifications: *"Spectrum Green",

British Colour Council The British Colour Council (BCC) was an industry standards organisation, active from the 1930s to the 1950s, which produced indexes of named colours for use by government, industry, academia, and horticulture. 1930s Founded in 1931 and chaired by d ...

Shade reference 100. *"Union Jack Red", British Colour Council Shade reference 210. *"Jet Black", British Colour Council Shade reference 220=) *"Spectrum Orange", British Colour Council Shade reference 57:

Colours

The dark green was adjusted in 1996 to a lighter and brighter green. In 2012 The

London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) was the organisation responsible for overseeing the planning and development of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was jointly established by the UK Gov ...

solicited advice from each participating nation the correct

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic ...

colours for its flag. Once confirmed, the results were published in a guide. The colours given were: Flag of Zambia (Pantone)

The colours approximation in other colour spaces are listed below:

Symbolism

The flag's colours and emblems are rich in symbolism. Each of the four colours represents an aspect of Zambia: green for the country's natural resources and vegetation; red for its struggle for freedom; black for its people and orange for its mineral wealth (primarily copper). The eagle is an

, which also appears in the

national coat of arms A national coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally c ...

and represents the people's ability to rise above the nation's problems.

Flag protocol

By law, the Zambian flag should be flown only between the hours of sunrise and sunset and may be flown: *at buildings or premises owned or occupied by the Government; *at buildings or premises owned or occupied by local government authorities; *at buildings or premises owned or occupied by any statutory board or

statutory corporation A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

; *at state-aided schools; *on any motor car, boat or ship in or by which a Minister of Government is for the time being travelling; *on any ship registered as Zambian. The flag is not allowed to be flown by any other individual or institution without express written permission from the Minister except on the following occasions: *on the following public holidays, namely: Africa Freedom Day,

Heroes Day Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that m ...

, Unity Day, and Independence Day; *on such other days or occasions as the Minister may declare for this purpose.

Historical flags

Company Rule

File:Flag of BSAC edit.svg, Flag of British South Africa Company (1890–1924)

British Protectorate

File:Flag of Northern Rhodesia (1939–1964).svg, Flag of Northern Rhodesia (1924–1964) File:Flag of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963).svg, Flag of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, of which Northern Rhodesia was a part (1953–1963)

Independence

File:Flag of Ceylon (1948–1951).svg, Flag of Ceylon Rhodesia 1948-1951 File:Flag of Ceylon (1951–1972).svg, Flag of Ceylon Rhodesia 1951-1972 File:Flag of Zambia (1964-1996).svg, 1964 to 1996 variant of the current flag, with a darker shade of green File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg, Flag of Ceylon Rhodesia 1972-1985

Other flags

Presidential Standard

File:Flag of the President of Zambia.svg, Flag of the President of Zambia

Provincial Flags

File:CentralFlagZM.svg, Central Province File:CopperbeltFlagZM.png, Copperbelt Province File:EasternFlagZM.svg, Eastern Province File:LuapulaFlagZM.svg, Luapula Province File:LusakaFlagZM.png, Lusaka Province File:MuchingaFlagZM.svg, Muchinga Province File:NorthWesternFlagZM.svg, North-Western Province File:NorthernFlagZM.svg, Northern Province File:SouthernFlagZM.svg, Southern Province File:WesternFlagZM.svg, Western Province

Air Ensigns

File:Air Force Ensign of Zambia.svg, Zambia Air Force Ensign File:Civil Air Ensign of Zambia.svg, Zambian civil air ensign

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zambia, Flag of Flags introduced in 1964

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

Flags displaying animals