The national flag of Zimbabwe consists of seven even horizontal stripes of green, gold, red and black with a white triangle containing a red 5-pointed star with a Zimbabwe Bird.
The present design was adopted on 18 April 1980, when Zimbabwe won its independence from the United Kingdom.
The soapstone bird featured on the flag represents a statuette of a bird found at the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.
The bird symbolizes the history of Zimbabwe; the red star beneath it officially stands for the nation's aspirations but is commonly thought to symbolize socialism, and the revolutionary struggle for freedom and peace.
The design is based on the flag of Zimbabwe's ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front.
Colours and symbolism
The Zimbabwean flag flying in the breeze
The national flag of Zimbabwe is made up of five different colors: Green, gold, red, black and white.
Officially, the colors of the flag of Zimbabwe carry political, regional, and cultural meanings.
Green represents the agriculture and rural areas of Zimbabwe.
Yellow stands for the wealth of minerals in the country, predominantly gold.
The red symbolizes the blood shed during the first and second Chimurenga (wars) in the "struggle for independence".
The black indicates the heritage, race and ethnicity of the black majority.
The white triangle is a symbol for peace.
The golden bird,known as the "Great Zimbabwe Bird" is the national symbol of Zimbabwe and is most likely a representation of the bateleur eagle or the African fish eagle.
It "exemplifies the strong bond that ancestral humans had with animals, nature and spiritual guides" and it is treated with a high level of importance and respect.
The red star represents the nation's aspirations
On 7 August 1980, Samora Machel made a famous speech involving the national flag of Zimbabwe, in which he said while holding the flag, "This flag covers everyone. There are no blacks in Zimbabwe, there are no whites, there are no mulattoes and Indians, today there are just Zimbabweans."
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