Papua New Guinea flag

Naval flag
(Dimensions: 3:4)

The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on July 1, 1971. It is divided by its descending diagonal (with respect to the side closest to the flagpole). The upper half of the flag is red and inside is the silhouette of a Raggi bird of paradise in yellow. The lower half of the flag is black and the constellation of the Southern Cross is represented by five five-pointed white stars. This constellation is also represented on the New Zealand flag by four red stars and on the Australian flag by five.

Red and black are two colors widely used by many tribes in Papua and New Guinea. Most of the species known as the bird of paradise inhabit these islands. This bird also appears on the national coat of arms.

Timeline

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  Flag of the Colony of New Guinea (1899-1914)

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  Flag of the German Empire (1899-1914)

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  Flag of the Anglo-Australian Territory of Papua (1906-1949)

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  Flag of the Anglo-Australian Territory of New Guinea (1914-1949) and the Territory of Papua and New Guinea (1949-1965)

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  Flag of Papua and New Guinea Trust (1965-1970)

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  Flag of Papua and New Guinea Trust (1970-1971)

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  Current flag since 1971

Similar flags

The colors are similar to those of the German Empire which was formed as German New Guinea from 1884-1919. The stars in the lower half are similar from Australia, New Zealand, Tokelau and Samoa.