Adopted on May 20, 1970, this flag consists of three horizontal stripes, red at the top, white in the middle and black at the base. On the left side of the Sudanese flag there is a horizontal green triangle pointing towards the middle of the flag.

The red, white and black colours used are the pan-Arab colours that stand for unity and independence. The red stripe symbolises Sudan’s fight for independence and the blood shed by the country’s martyrs. Peace, light and optimism are represented by the white band. The white colour is also for the White Flag League, the nationalist group that rose up against colonial rule in 1924. In Arabic ‘Sudan’ means black and so the black stripes stand for the country. The black also represents the black flag of the nationalists who fought colonial rule in the late 19th century. Green stands for Islam, agriculture and the prosperity of the land.