Vanuatu Flag

Description

The Vanuatu flag is available from Flags Online in full-size and desk formats, printed on both sides and made to last outdoors.

About the Vanuatu Flag

Few national flags pack as much local meaning into their design as the Vanuatu flag. Adopted on 18 February 1980, the day the archipelago gained independence from joint British and French rule, it uses a bold combination of red, green, black and yellow to represent both the land and its people. A golden Y-shaped band, outlined in black, runs across a red and green field, with a black panel bearing a boar’s tusk and crossed namele leaves sitting near the hoist.

Colours and Symbolism

On the Vanuatu flag, green stands for the richness of the islands’ soil and vegetation, while red represents the blood shared by all people, a symbol of common humanity rather than conflict. Black represents the ni-Vanuatu people themselves. The yellow pall, or Y-shape, traces the rough configuration of the islands and is also read as representing the spread of the gospel through the island chain. Within the black triangle at the hoist sits a golden boar’s tusk curled around two crossed namele fern leaves. The tusk is a long-standing symbol of prosperity and status in Vanuatu custom, while the namele leaves stand for peace; the leaflets on each frond are said to echo the number of members in the country’s first parliament.

History of the Vanuatu Flag

Before independence, the islands were known as the New Hebrides and administered jointly by Britain and France, a shared governance arrangement without a single unifying flag. In the years leading up to independence, the Vanua’aku Pati, the leading political movement, used red, green, black and yellow in its own party colours from 1977 onward. When those colours were carried into the national flag design in 1980, they gave Vanuatu a flag with genuine roots in its own recent political history rather than one imposed from outside. A parliamentary committee reviewed submissions from local artists before settling on the final layout still in use today.

Flying and Displaying the Flag

The Vanuatu flag is flown across government buildings and public spaces, particularly around Independence Day celebrations each February. Its strong geometric design, with the black-edged yellow pall cutting across the red and green field, means it reads clearly even at a distance or in a stiff breeze, a practical consideration for a nation spread across dozens of islands. When displaying the flag, care should be taken to orient the pall correctly, with the black triangle and its emblem sitting at the hoist rather than the fly.

Vanuatu Flag Sizes and Pricing

• 180 x 120cm — R860
• 22 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R800
• 10 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R650
• 90 x 60cm — R400

Material and Construction

Made from 100% polyester bunting material and digitally printed on both sides. Hemmed all around with two rows of stitching and finished with a polyester webbing heading. Rope and toggle for hoisting included.

Supplied in packs of 10. Printed on both sides onto polyester and supplied with a black plastic stick and removable base — take the base off and it doubles as a hand waving flag.

Ordering and Delivery

Every Vanuatu flag is printed to order and dispatched from our Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg branches, with courier delivery nationwide. Bulk and school orders are welcome — contact us for volume pricing on quantities of 10 or more.

Order Lead Times

Almost everything we make is freshly printed and made to order, just for you! So please allow 3–5 working days for us to prepare your order before it heads out the door. We’ll always try to get it to you sooner where we can. Some fast movers, like South African flags, ship quicker as they’re often in stock.

One quick thing to keep in mind: the “next working day” you see on your order confirmation is the courier’s delivery time from the day we dispatch — not from the day you place your order. So it’s really 3–5 days to prepare + next-day delivery.

Good things are worth the wait — we’re excited to get your order into your hands.

Additional information