Solomon Islands Flag

Description

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu and covering a land area of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). The country’s capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (part of Papua New Guinea), but excludes outlying islands, such as Rennell and Bellona, and the Santa Cruz Islands.

The flag of Solomon Islands was adopted in 1977, replacing the British Blue Ensign defaced with the arms of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. It has been the flag of Solomon Islands since 18 November of that year, eight months before the country gained independence. It consists of a thin, yellow stripe dividing diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner. The upper triangle is blue and the canton is charged with five white stars; the lower triangle is green. Although the number of provinces has increased from the five original provinces, the number of stars on the flag remains unchanged. Blue is said to represent the surrounding ocean; green represents the land, and the yellow stripe is symbolic of sunshine.