Flag of Angola

What it means

• Red: the blood shed by Angolans during colonial rule, the war of independence and the defence of the country
• Black: the African continent
• Yellow: the wealth of the country
• Half cogwheel: workers and industry
• Machete: farmers, farming and the armed struggle for independence
• Star: international solidarity and progress

Where it came from

The flag was adopted on 11 November 1975, the day Angola became independent from Portugal after a long war. It is based on the flag of the MPLA, the liberation movement that took power, which has the same red and black halves with a yellow star.

Henrique de Carvalho Santos is credited with the design. The flag expert Whitney Smith pointed out that the emblem looks a lot like the Soviet hammer and sickle with a star.

History

Before 1975 Angola was a Portuguese colony and used Portugal's flag. The new flag has not changed since independence, though the constitution's description of it was updated over time.

In 2003 a committee chose a new design in a public competition: red, white and blue stripes with a yellow sun inspired by ancient rock paintings. It was never adopted, partly because many people wanted to keep the link to the independence struggle.

Easy to mix up with

• Germany: Germany also has black and red, but in three stripes with gold and no emblem
• Mozambique: Mozambique's flag also shows a tool and a weapon, an AK-47 and a hoe on a book, on green, black and yellow stripes