When the Vanuaaku Party led the country to independence as Vanuatu in 1980, the colours of the party flag - red, green, black and yellow - were chosen to be the basis for the national flag. The final design was decided upon by a parliamentary committee incorporating submissions from local artists.

The green stands for the richness of the islands, the red is symbolic of the blood of boars and men, and the black for the Melanesian people. Vanuatu’s Prime Minister requested the inclusion of yellow and black fimbriations (or stripes of colour), to make the black stand out.

Vanuatu is approximately 75% Christian and therefore the yellow Y-shape represents the light of the Gospel through the pattern of the islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The emblem in the black is a boar's tusk and is the symbol of wealth and prosperity worn as a pendant on the islands. Within the tusks are two leaves of the local namele fern. The leaves are seen as a token of peace, and their 39 fronds represent the 39 members of Vanuatu's legislative assembly.