A golden-edged black diagonal band divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner: the upper triangle is green and the lower triangle is light blue.
Presidential Standard of Tanzania
Proportion
2:3
Design
A green field with a blue border with the national coat of arms (without humans) imposed at the center.
TheSultanate of Zanzibar – which was a Britishprotectorate until 1963[2] – used a red flag during its reign over the island. The last sultan was overthrown in theZanzibar Revolution on 12 January 1964, and theAfro-Shirazi Party – the ruling political party of the newly formedPeople's Republic of Zanzibar – adopted a national flag the next month that was inspired by its own party flag.[3][4] This consisted of a tricolour with three horizontal blue, black and green bands.[3]
In April 1964, both Tanganyika and Zanzibar united in order to form a single country – the United Republic ofTanzania.[2] Consequently, the flag designs of the two states were amalgamated to establish a new national flag.[3][5] The green and black colours from the flag of Tanganyika were retained along with the blue from Zanzibar's flag,[4] with a diagonal design used "for distinctiveness".[3] This combined design was adopted on 30 June 1964.[4] It was featured on the first set of stamps issued by the newly unified country.[6]
The colors and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The green alludes to the natural vegetation and "rich agricultural resources" of the country,[3][5] while black represents theSwahili people who are native to Tanzania.[5] The blue epitomizes theIndian Ocean,[3] as well as the nation's numerous lakes and rivers.[5] The thin stripes stand for Tanzania's mineral wealth,[3][4][7] derived from the "rich deposits" in the land.[5] WhileWhitney Smith in theEncyclopædia Britannica andDorling Kindersley'sComplete Flags of the World describe thefimbriations as yellow,[3][4] other sources – such asThe World Factbook and Simon Clarke in the journalAzania: Archaeological Research in Africa – contend that it is actually gold.[5][7]
13 horizontal stripes. 4 red, 4 green, 2 white and 3 yellow with 8 green crescent moons. 3 in the superior and inferior yellow stripes and 2 in the central yellow stripe.
^abcdefghijSmith, Whitney (21 November 2013)."Flag of Tanzania".Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved6 August 2014.(subscription required)