The flag of Zimbabwe was formed on April 18, 1980.
The flag has seven horizontal stripes: black, red, yellow and green, with a white triangle on the left side of the flag. In the white space, the image of a bird, carved from soapstone, and a red star, are featured.
The colors chosen for the flag are said to have come from the traditional pan-African color scheme and the colors featured on the flag came from Ethiopia’s flag, which is the oldest independent nation on the continent of Africa.
The black is representative of the African people, the red symbolizes the blood that was spilt in war, the yellow represents the mineral richness of the country and the green represents the verdant landscape. White is meant to symbolize peace, while the red star stands for the hopes of the country.
The bird depicted on the flag is the bird which was found in a statuette in the 19th century at the Great Zimbabwe ruins. Though the artifact was found in Zimbabwe, it was taken from the country and never returned.
