Botswana

3×5' nylon national flag of Botswana.

In a country where the national motto is Pula, meaning "rain," the flag is the color of a rain-bearing sky. Botswana's flag is one of very few in Africa that carries none of the Pan-African colors or the colors of a liberation party.

Design

A light blue field crossed horizontally by a black band edged in narrow white stripes.

History & Symbolism

The flag was adopted at independence from Britain on 30 September 1966. Light blue stands for water, and rain above all, in a largely arid land. The black band with its white edges stands for the harmony of black and white peoples, and recalls the stripes of the zebra, the national animal, which supports the national coat of arms.

Flag Specifications

• Adopted: 30 September 1966
• Official proportions: 2:3
• Colors: light blue, black, white

Vexillographer's Note

The shade of blue matters. Botswana's is a pale sky blue; a darker navy turns the flag into something that reads as a different country.

Humphrys Flag Company · Old City Philadelphia · Est. 1864