The national flag of Botswana (

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name Setswana, is a Bantu language indigenous to Southern Africa and spoken by about 8.2 million people. It is closely related to the Northern Sotho and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalaga ...

: ''folaga ya Botswana'') consists of a

sky blue Sky blue refers to a collection of shades comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. Typically it is a shade of cyan or light teal, though some iterations are closer to light Azure (color), azure or light blue. The term (as "sky blew") is atte ...

field cut horizontally in the centre by a

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

stripe with a thin

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

frame. Adopted in 1966 to replace the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

, it has been the flag of the Republic of

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

since the country gained independence that year. It is one of the few African flags that utilises neither the colours of the Pan-Africanist movement nor the colours of the country's leading

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Design

The Republic of Botswana has a rectangular flag with a 2:3 ratio. Race is a very important feature of the flag. It was designed in order to contrast with the

Flag of South Africa The national flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, during South Africa's South African general election, 1994, 1994 general election, to replace the Flag of South Africa (1928–1994), previous flag used ...

at the time when

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

was in effect. The black band with the white frame has two meanings. They represent the harmony and cooperation between the people of different races who live in Botswana, as well as the racial diversity of the country. The blue is associated with the sky, and water which is scarce. The country's motto, ''Pula'', means water, rain, and the life that is derived from it.

History

In 1885, Botswana became a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

within its colonial empire, under the name of the

Bechuanaland Protectorate The Bechuanaland Protectorate () was a British protectorate, protectorate established on 31 March 1885 in Southern Africa by the United Kingdom. It became the Botswana, Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966. History Scottish missionary ...

. This occurred after the leaders of the

Tswana people The Batswana (, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu peoples, Bantu Ethnic groups in South Africa, ethnic group native to Southern Africa that are descendants of King Looe (Lowe) who established the Hurutshi tribe in Southern Africa (linguistic ...

negotiated with the British to offer them protection from the

Boers Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

, who were invading their lands from the neighbouring

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

. Bechuanaland gained independence from Britain in 1966, and the new nation was renamed to Botswana. The new flag was first hoisted at midnight on 30 September 1966, the day Botswana became an independent country. It was designed to be distinct from the

flag of South Africa The national flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, during South Africa's South African general election, 1994, 1994 general election, to replace the Flag of South Africa (1928–1994), previous flag used ...

, due to the country’s

system. It is one of the few African flags that do not use the Pan-African colours or the colours of the flag of the dominant political party. From 1885 to 1966, Botswana's flag was the

. Under British rule, there was also no official flag, coat of arms, or badge, though there was a seal.

Protocol

Permission from the government is required to fly the flag. A formal request must be sent to the Permanent Secretary to the

President of Botswana The president of the Republic of Botswana is the head of state and the head of government of Botswana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Botswana Defence Force, according to the Constitution. The president is elected by the National A ...

. It is recommended not to let the flag touch the floor, and to make sure it remains upright at all times. It is also recommended to follow the tradition of hoisting it at dawn and lowering it at dusk. The blue band should be placed at the top with the black band in the middle, and the white band at the bottom when displaying the flag vertically. The guidelines also state to lower the flag to

half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...

to symbolise mourning or respect. If a flag gets damaged, there should be a burning ceremony. If burning is not an option, then it is recommended to "dispose of the flag respectfully."

References

Sources

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External links

* {{nationalflags