FlAg Of SoUtH aFrIcA

The current flag of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on April 27, 1994, during the 1994 general election. A new national flag was adopted to represent the new democracy.

None of the flag designs submitted by the public was supported by the committee charged to select the final design. An interim flag was designed by State Herald Frederick Brownell for the April 27 elections, the nation's first fully inclusive elections, and for Nelson Mandela's May 10 inauguration. Although the flag had mixed reception, the interim version was made the final, national flag in the South African Constitution. The new flag is seen as an enduring symbol of the modern South African state.

The flag has horizontal bands of red (on the top) and blue (on the bottom), of equal width, separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal "Y" shape, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side (and follow the flag's diagonals). The Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes. The stripes at the fly end are in the 5:1:3:1:5 ratio. The South African flag is the only national flag in the world with six colours and without a seal or brocade. In blazons (a vexillological description using flag terminology), the South African flag is described as "per pall fesswise gules, sable and azure, a fesswise pall vert fimbriated argent, Or and argent."