The flag of Sudan () used since 20 May 1970 consists of a horizontal red-white-black tricolour with a green triangle at the hoist. The flag is based on the Arab Liberation Flag of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Upon gaining independence in 1956, Sudan, adopted a horizontal tricolour of blue, yellow and green. This flag was abandoned after the 1969 military coup of Gaafar Nimeiry.
Flag history
Flags of the Mahdists
In 1881, at the beginning of the Mahdist War, self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad appointed Abdallahi ibn Muhammad as one of his four caliphs and handed him a black flag. Abdallahi used his black flag to recruit Baggara Arabs and other tribes from the west. The other caliphs used different coloured flags. The black horizontal stripe in the current Sudanese flag is a reference to this Mahdist-era black flag.
<gallery class="center">
File:Flag of the Mahdi movement in Sudan.svg|Flag used during the Mahdist Revolt and in Mahdist Sudan (1881–1899)
File:Banner, declaration of faith and allegiance to Allah. Sudanese Mahdist Army, Omdurman, 1889. The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Given by Miss Victoria MacBean.jpg|Banner used by the Mahdist Army; captured at Omdurman in 1898.
File:Black flag.svg|The black standard was also used in Mahdist Sudan
</gallery>
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Between 1899 and 1956, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was administered jointly as a condominium by Egypt and the United Kingdom. The condominium did not have its own flag; instead the flag of Egypt and the flag of the United Kingdom were always flown together, with the British flag taking precedence.
A flag did exist as a rank flag for the British Governor General of the Sudan. In common with the rank flags of governors and commissioners of other British overseas territories, it consisted of a Union Flag defaced with a white disk bearing the territory's badge or coat of arms, surrounded by a wreath of laurel. As no badge or coat of arms existed for Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the disk instead contained the words "GOVERNOR GENERAL OF THE SUDAN".
At the Afro–Asian Conference held between 18 and 24 April 1955, Sudan was represented by a white flag bearing the name "SUDAN" in red capital letters.
<gallery class="center">
File:Flag of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1914–1922).png|Flags used in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1914–1922)
File:Flag of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.svg|Flags used in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1922–1956)
File:Flag of the Governor-General of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.svg|Flag of the British Governor General
File:Flag of the Sudan Defense Force (1925-1956).svg|Flag of the Sudan Defence Force (1925–1956)
File:Flag of Sudan (Bandung Conference).svg|Flag used to represent Sudan at the Afro–Asian Conference (April 1955)
</gallery>
Republic of Sudan (1956–1969)
thumb|right|Sudan's flag raised at independence ceremony by Prime Minister [[Ismail al-Azhari|Isma'il Alazhari and opposition leader Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub on 1 January 1956]]
Upon the independence of the Republic of Sudan from Anglo-Egyptian rule on 1 January 1956, Sudan adopted a blue-yellow-green tricolour as its national flag.
The flag was designed by the poet Macki Sufi and remained in use until 1970, when the current flag was adopted. The colours of the flag represented the River Nile (blue), the Sahara (yellow) and farmlands (green). They were chosen as they were neutral between ethnic groups and political parties.
Use of this flag resurfaced during the 2018–19 Sudanese protests. The president of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, proposed readopting the blue-yellow-green tricolour in December 2025 in the midst of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present).
<gallery class="center">
<!--File:Flag of Sudan (1956–1970).svg|Flag of the Republic of the Sudan (1956–1969)-->
File:Flag of Sudan (1956–1970, 2-3).svg|Flag of the Republic of the Sudan 2-3 ratio (1956–1969)
File:Naval Ensign of Sudan (1956-1970).svg|Naval ensign (1956–1970)
File:Ensign of the Sudanese Customs Service (1956-1970).svg|Customs ensign (1956–1970)
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{| class=wikitable width=60% style="text-align:center;"
|-
! 40px<br>Colour scheme
! style="background:#0F47AF; width:100px; color:white;"| Blue
! style="background:#FFF500; width:100px; color:black;" | Yellow
! style="background:#00923F; width:100px; color:white;"| Green
|-
| CMYK || 91-59-0-31 || 0-3-100-0 || 100-0-56-42
|-
|HEX
|#0F47AF
|#FFF500
|#00923F
|-
|RGB
|15-71-175
|255-245-0
|0-146-63
|}
Democratic Republic of Sudan (1969–1985) and Republic of Sudan (1985–present)
Following a coup d'état in May 1969, the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of Sudan and a competition was held to design a new flag. The winning entry was designed by artist based on pan-Arab colours and was adopted as the national flag in May 1970.
Whereas there is no fixed order for the Pan-Arab Colours of black, white, red, and green, flags using the Arab Liberation Colours (a subset of the Pan-Arab Colours) maintain a horizontal triband of equal stripes of red, white, and black, with green being used to distinguish the different flags from each other by way of green stars, Arabic script, or, in the case of Sudan, the green triangle along the hoist. In the original Arab Liberation Flag, green was used in the form of the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan emblazoned on the breast of the Eagle of Saladin in the middle stripe.
<gallery class="center">
File:Flag of Sudan.svg|Flag of the Democratic Republic of Sudan (1970–1985)
File:Standard of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan (variant).svg|Standard of the president of the Democratic Republic of Sudan(1970–1985)
File:Presidential Standard of Sudan.svg|Flag of the President of the Sudan (1985–present)
File:Ensign of the Sudanese Customs Service.svg|Ensign of the Sudanese Customs Service
File:Naval Ensign of Sudan.svg|Naval ensign (1985–present)
File:Air Force Ensign of Sudan.svg|Air Force ensign (1970–present)
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Design and symbolism
thumb|People with flags during the [[Sudanese revolution (2018–2019)]]
According to World Flags 101:
;Construction sheet
Colour scheme
The specified colours are as follows:
{| class=wikitable width=60% style="text-align:center;"
|-
! 40px<br />Colour scheme
! style="background:#007229; width:100px; color:white;"| Green
! style="background:#D21034; width:100px; color:white;"| Red
! style="background:#000000; width:100px; color:white;" | Black
! style="background:#FFFFFF; width:100px; color:black;" | White
|-
| CMYK || 100-0-64-55 || 0-92-75-18 || 0-0-0-100 || 0-0-0-0
|-
|HEX
|#007229
|#D21034
|#000000
|#FFFFFF
|-
|RGB
|0-114-41
|210-16-52
|0-0-0
|255-255-255
|}
Sub-national flags
The sub-national flags usually consist of the state's emblem displayed on a white or coloured background. Some of the states of Sudan have adopted their own distinctive flags, usually their state emblem on a green or white background.
States
<gallery>
Flag of Blue Nile State.png|Blue Nile State
Flag of Central Darfur State.png|Central Darfur
Flag of North Darfur State.png|North Darfur
Flag of South Darfur State.png|South Darfur
Flag of West Darfur State.png|West Darfur
File:Flag of Kassala Wilayyah.svg|Kassala State
Flag of Khartoum Wilayah.png|Khartoum State
Seal of River Nile State.png|River Nile State
Flag of Al Qadarif State.png|Al Qadarif State
</gallery>
Administrative areas
<gallery>
Flag of the Abyei Area.png|Abyei Area
</gallery>
Former provincial flags
<gallery class="center">
File:Flag of North Kurdufan.svg|Kordofan
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See also
- List of Sudanese flags
- Emblem of Sudan
- Flag of South Sudan
- Flag of Egypt
- Flag of Iraq
- Flag of Yemen