Flag of Sudan
Three equal horizontal bands of red, white and black, with a green triangle at the hoist.
What the flag means
No law explains the colours. The usual explanation is red for the struggle for independence and its martyrs, white for peace and optimism, black for Sudan itself and the black flag of the Mahdist period, and green for Islam and farming.
History
After Gaafar Nimeiry took power in a coup in May 1969, the government held a competition for a new flag. The winning entry, by the artist Abdel Rahman Ahmed Al-Jali, used the Pan-Arab colours. An amendment to the national flag act brought it into force on 20 May 1970. In December 2025 Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, proposed a return to the 1956 flag.
The design is based on the Arab Liberation Flag used during Egypt's 1952 revolution.
Earlier flags of Sudan
- 1899–1956British and Egyptian flags flown together under the Anglo-Egyptian condominium
- 1956–1970Blue, yellow and green tricolour designed by the poet Macki Sufi
Flags that look like this one
Jordan and Palestine share black, white and green stripes with a red triangle; Jordan adds a small white star. Sudan puts red on top and a green triangle. Kuwait uses a black trapezoid, and the UAE a vertical red band.
Flags of Sudan's neighbours
Sources
- Wikipedia: Flag of Sudan
- Flags of the World: Sudan
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Read how we research flags in our editorial policy, or report a mistake.
