Rwanda

Rwanda
Adopted	October 25, 2001
Designed by	Alphonse Kirimobenecyo
Proportions	2:3

The flag of Rwanda is a horizontal tricolour of light blue, yellow, and green. The upper stripe of light blue takes up half of the background of the flag, and the other two lower stripes of yellow and green are equal in thickness. In the upper fly canton of the flag is a stylized golden yellow sun with 24 equally spaced rays of equal length.

Symbolism

The flag has four colours: blue, green, and two forms of yellow (standard yellow for the middle band and what the Pantone system calls "sun yellow" for the sun); the difference between the two yellows is barely noticeable.

The blue band represents happiness and peace, the yellow band symbolizes economic development, and the green band symbolizes the hope of prosperity. The sun represents enlightenment.

History

Up until 1961, Rwanda was a colony, first under the rule of the German Empire, then under Belgium. However, Rwanda didn't yet have a flag. That was, until the year it got independence.

1961-1962

1962-2001

After the coup of Gitarama, the new republican government adopted a new flag which consisted of stripes of red, green, and yellow. In 1962, the flag was given a black "R" to avoid mix-ups with the flags of Guinea and Mali. In 2001, they changed the flag to what it was today.

There are many disputes to why they changed it, but according to their rationale, it was due to avoid connotations with their 1994 genocide.