The flag of South Sudan was adopted following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. A different version of the flag was previously used as the flag of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. The flag of South Sudan predates the country, as the flag was adopted in 2005, while the country became independent in 2011.
History To address the discrepancies, on 25 August 2023, the Media Authority of South Sudan released an advisory to advertisement and printing companies identifying the correct version of the flag as having a light blue triangle and upright star. It is now illegal in South Sudan to distribute alternate reproductions of the flag which feature a dark blue triangle or tilted star.
Description The flag bears similarities with the flags of Sudan and Kenya. It shares the black, white, red, and green of the Sudanese flag (although the colours' symbolism are different), in addition to having a triangle along the hoist. The horizontal black, white, red, and green bands of the current South Sudanese flag share the same design as the Kenyan flag, and the Pan-African symbolism thereof. Another difference between the flags of Sudan and South Sudan is that there is a yellow star inside the blue triangle (like the flag of the Belgian Congo), representing the national unity of South Sudan.
Since the flag was adopted, there have been disagreements about whether the star should be tilted to the right slightly or upright, and whether the triangle should be dark blue or sky blue. The dark blue triangle and the fixed stars were used at John Garang's funeral in 2005. by AP Archive (5 August 2005; uploaded to YouTube on 24 July 2015). Variants of the flag with dark blue triangle, tilted stars, or both were commonly used until 2023, when the government declared the sky blue triangle and upright star as the only accepted version.
Colours While no officially standardized colour codes have ever been set by any legal document, on 25 August 2023, the Media Authority of South Sudan released an advisory discouraging the use of darker shades of blue (which had previously been commonplace in both official and unofficial settings). It is illegal in South Sudan to distribute an incorrect reproduction of the flag.
Symbolism and representation The South Sudanese government specifies that the colours of the flag are there to represent these descriptions of South Sudan: Black: Represents the people of South Sudan. Red: Represents blood that was shed for the independence of the country. Green: Represents the country's agricultural, natural wealth, land, as well as progress. White: Represents peace. Blue: Represents waters of the Nile River, a source of life. Yellow: Represents unity (of the states), hope, and determination for all people.
Historical flags South Sudan as part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
South Sudan as part of the Republic of Sudan
South Sudan as the independent Republic of South Sudan
Other flags
Government flags
Military flags
Political party flags Including militant organizations barred from participation in electoral politics.
Miscellaneous flags
Sub-national flags South Sudan has ten states, two administrative areas and one area with special administrative status. The ten states have adopted state flags.
States
Administrative areas
See also Coat of arms of South Sudan List of South Sudanese flags South Sudan Oyee!
Notes
References
External links
Timeline of South Sudan by BBC News