Flag of Zambia
Zambia’s flag is green with an orange eagle in flight above a block of three vertical stripes, red, black and orange, in the corner away from the pole. Zambia’s embassy in Washington says the red is the struggle for freedom, the black the people of Zambia, the orange the country’s mineral wealth and the green its natural resources, and the eagle in flight freedom and the ability to rise above the country’s problems.
Easily confused with
How to read it
Article 6 of the Constitution (as amended in 2016) lists the national flag among Zambia’s national symbols, with the anthem, the coat of arms, the public seal and the motto, and leaves its form and description to be prescribed by law. The flag was hoisted for the first time at midnight on 23 October 1964, at independence, the embassy says.
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Zambia’s and Zimbabwe’s flags side by side
Both flags have a bird. Zambia’s is mostly green, with its eagle and its red, black and orange stripes at the fly. Zimbabwe’s has seven horizontal stripes, green, gold, red, black, red, gold, green, and its bird, the gold Zimbabwe Bird on a red star, is in a white triangle at the pole.
Read next
- Next in African flagsFlag of ZimbabweZimbabwe’s flag has seven stripes, green, gold, red and black at the centre, and a white triangle at the pole with a red star and the gold Zimbabwe Bird. The government says green is vegetation and agriculture, gold the mineral wealth, red the blood shed in the liberation war, black the black majority, the white triangle peace and the red star the nation’s aspirations; the bird is the national emblem.
- The same shape in North and Central American flagsFlag of Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago’s flag is red, crossed from the top corner by the pole to the bottom corner at the fly by a black band edged in white. The Office of the President says the red stands for the vitality of the land and its people, the warmth and energy of the sun and the people’s courage and friendliness, the white for the sea that binds the islands and the equality of all, and the black for the dedication of a people joined by one strong bond.
More african flags
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines or squares and rectangles.
Sources
- The Flag of Zambia (Embassy of Zambia, Washington), Embassy of the Republic of Zambia in Washington, D.C., “The Flag of Zambia”, Embassy of the Republic of Zambia, Washington, D.C., Whole page
- Zambia 1991 (rev. 2016) Constitution, Constitution of Zambia, 1991 (rev. 2016), article 6, Constitute Project, Article 6
- National Flag of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe Government Portal), Zimbabwe Government Portal, National Symbols, “National Flag of Zimbabwe”, Government of Zimbabwe, Whole page
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 13, 2026. How we research
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