Africa

Flag of Zambia

Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa, formerly known as Northern Rhodesia, which gained independence from Britain in 1964. It is named after the Zambezi River, one of Africa's great rivers and the site of Victoria Falls on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border — one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls. Zambia is a significant copper producer, and the Copperbelt region in the north was historically one of the world's richest copper deposits.

CapitalLusaka
RegionAfrica
Current flag since1996
Main coloursGreen, Red, Black, Orange
Populationabout 20 million
Areaabout 753,000 km²
GeographyLandlocked
Flags in history2

Population and area are rounded.

What the flag of Zambia means

Green stands for the land, red for the struggle for freedom, black for the people of Zambia and orange for the country's mineral wealth, above all copper. The orange African fish eagle flying above them stands for the people's ability to rise above the nation's problems. The flag was adopted at independence in 1964.

More about the flag

Zambia, formerly Northern Rhodesia, became independent from Britain on 24 October 1964. Unusually, the flag's emblem and stripes sit at the fly end rather than at the hoist. The fish eagle also appears on the coat of arms, above the motto One Zambia, One Nation. The country takes its name from the Zambezi River, which forms its southern border and plunges over Victoria Falls.

How to recognise it

Green field with a vertical stripe of red-black-orange on the right and an orange eagle in the top right.

Did you know?

Zambia and Zimbabwe share Victoria Falls — one of the world's largest waterfalls.

Easily confused with

Zambia's flag is often mixed up with these. Learn to tell them apart:

Zimbabwe

Flag history of Zambia

Every flag that has flown over Zambia, from today back through time.

1996–present

Current flag

In 1996 the field green was brightened and the orange eagle redrawn to match the coat of arms. The eagle and red-black-orange stripes sit unusually in the fly rather than the center.