Namibia’s current national flag has blue and green fields divided by a white-edged red diagonal, with a golden sun in the upper hoist. The Assembly adopted it on 2 February 1990; national use dates from independence on 21 March 1990. [2] [3]
Specification
Article 2(1) establishes the national flag; Schedule 6 names and describes it. The diagonal rises from lower hoist to upper fly, separating blue above from green below. Let H be the hoist and L the fly. [1]
| Element | Scheduled measurement | Construction reading |
|---|---|---|
| Rectangle | H:L = 2:3 | L = 1.5H |
| White diagonal, including red overlay | H/3 | Measured perpendicular to the band |
| Red diagonal | H/4 | Centered on white; each visible border H/24 |
| Sun, including rays | Diameter H/3 | Outer radius R = H/6 |
| Twelve straight rays | Length 2R/5 | Extend outward from the blue ring |
| Blue ring | Thickness R/10 | Separates gold disc and rays |
| Sun position | Axis one fifth from hoist; equidistant from top and diagonal | Specimen reads the horizontal offset as L/5 |
Colors: statutory references and screen specimen
Schedule 4, Part A of Act 17 of 2018 gives the following colors for the presidential standard and explicitly says they must be the same as the national flag. The table therefore supplies a statutory color reference, although its heading concerns a different flag. [4]
| Color | Pantone in 2018 Schedule | Coates SP in 2018 Schedule | Inspected SVG screen fill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 294c | 5 809 0 | #003580 |
| Yellow (gold) | 116c | 1 802 0 | #FFCE00 |
| Green | 347c | 65 0 | #009543 |
| Red | 186c | 35 0 | #D21034 |
| White | Not listed in that table | Not listed in that table | #FFFFFF |
The SVG palette is preserved from the retrieved Commons-derived mirror. Its blue, green and red differ from the current Commons file’s screen palette. Neither set of HEX values appears in the statutory table; these are display approximations, not certified Pantone or Coates conversions. Textile tolerances, dye recipes and a current government manufacturing master were not obtained. [6]
Construction notes
The inspected viewBox is 0 0 90 60. White and red strokes of 20 and 15 units share the line from (0,60) to (90,0), leaving 2.5-unit white borders. A rectangular clip trims the bands. The sun group is translated to (18,16.341); its twelve outer tips lie approximately 10 units from its center. A gold circle of radius 5.5 with a one-unit blue stroke leaves a visible gold radius of 5 and an outer ring radius of 6. Rays then reach radius 10. These are measurements of the artwork, with rounding in its polygon coordinates. [6]
The vertical coordinate is a geometric reconstruction: solving for equal perpendicular distances from the sun center to the top edge and the blue-side edge of the white band gives y ≈ 16.3415 at x=18. This agrees with the vector’s rounded placement. The constitutional phrase about the one-fifth offset does not expressly name the dimension; the specimen interprets it as the fly. Equal angular spacing and the exact ray outline are vector choices consistent with twelve straight rays, not a separate legal tolerance. [1]
Historical record
The Namibian Embassy in France dates the Constituent Assembly’s unanimous adoption to 2 February 1990. The Flag Institute associates official adoption with independence on 21 March 1990. This record distinguishes the Assembly’s selection from the beginning of use as an independent nation’s flag. [2] [3]
The design remains the national flag. The 2018 legislation adds national-symbol provisions and a shared color table; it is not treated here as a new flag adoption. No individual designer attribution is asserted by this record. [4] [5]
Symbolism
The Embassy explains the sun as life and energy, and its gold as desert warmth and plains. Blue evokes sky, ocean, marine resources and water; green represents vegetation and agriculture. Red represents the people and their determination to build equal opportunity, while white stands for peace and unity. These are official explanatory meanings, separate from the constitutional geometry. [2]
Usage
This is the national flag representing Namibia, distinct from the presidential standard. Act 17 of 2018 regulates national symbols, including use likely to cause confusion in connection with trade, professions, marks or goods without prior written presidential approval or that of a designated person. It also authorizes regulations on flying, orientation and display alongside other flags. This is not a complete protocol manual; artwork copyright status does not override emblem-use rules. [5]
Source trail
- WIPO Lex: Constitution, Article 2(1) and Schedule 6 ↗ — inspected legal text in the 2010 consolidation; 2014 consolidation listing ↗; Schedule 6 transcription ↗. Government and Legal Assistance Centre PDF downloads were unavailable during this check.
- Namibian Embassy in France: Symbols of the State ↗ — official identity, Assembly adoption and symbolism; indexed text retrieved.
- Flag Institute: Flag of Namibia ↗ — 21 March 1990 independence and official adoption.
- Government Gazette 6807, 28 December 2018, page 10 ↗ — validated Wikisource transcription of Act 17 of 2018, Schedule 4, Part A; Pantone and Coates SP table inspected. Gazette PDF ↗ could not be retrieved; no direct scan inspection claimed.
- NamibLII: National Symbols of the Republic of Namibia Act 17 of 2018 ↗ — indexed legislative text on use and regulation-making; full page access was restricted.
- Retrieved SVG mirror ↗; repository provenance and public-domain declaration ↗; Commons contributor history, current artwork and rights panel ↗; local provenance and rights record.
Sources checked 15 September 2026. Related records: Botswana and Tanzania. Browse national flags or the Flag Index.