Flag of Yemen

For a list of flags used by Yemen throughout its history, see List of Yemenite flags.

The national flag of Yemen (Arabic: علم اليمن, romanized: 'Alam al-Yaman) is the official flag of Yemen. It was adopted on 22 May 1990, the day of the Yemeni unification. It resembles the Arab Liberation Flag that was used by the National Liberation Front. It served as the derivation for the flags of both North and South Yemen prior to their unification, and the distinctive elements of flag were removed in choosing the flag post-unification.^[1]

National Liberation Front supporters waving their flags as part of the celebrations, demonstrations and mass marches after the British Withdrawal from Aden

Republic of Yemen

Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	22 May 1990; 35 years ago (1990-05-22)
Design	A horizontal tricolour of red, white and black

According to the official description, the red stands for unity and the bloodshed of martyrs, the white for a bright future, and the black for the supposed dark past. The flag is graphically identical to the flag of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1972.^[1]

Design

Construction sheet

construction sheet of the flag

Meaning behind the colours

Colour	Represents
Red	the blood of martyrs who struggled to achieve independence and unity[2][3]
White	a bright future[2][3]
Black	the dark days of the past[2][3]

Colour shades

Colour scheme	Red	White	Black
Hexadecimal	#CE1126	#FFFFFF	#000000
RGB	206–17–38	255–255–255	0–0–0
CMYK	0, 90, 76, 0	0, 0, 0, 0	0, 0, 0, 100
Pantone	032	N/A	Black
RAL	3028	N/A	9005
Source:[4][5]

Historical flags

Before Yemen was unified into the present-day Republic of Yemen in 1990, it existed as two states, North and South Yemen.

North Yemen

Kingdom of Yemen

Main article: Flag of the Kingdom of Yemen

The Kingdom of Yemen was never a British protectorate, but was nominally part of the Ottoman Empire until 1918 and was independent thereafter. Independently, here were two British protectorates (known as the Eastern and Western Aden Protectorates) which contained 24 sultanates, emirates and sheikhdoms in the hinterland of Aden.^[6]

The flag was in use until 1962 when the imam was overthrown and the Yemen Arab Republic was established. A civil war between republicans (supported by Egypt) and royalists (supported by Saudi Arabia) continued until 1970, with the royalist side continuing to use the flag of the kingdom.^[6]

• 
  Kingdom of Yemen
  (1918–1923)
• 
  Kingdom of Yemen
  (1923–1927)
• 
  Kingdom of Yemen
  (1927–1970)
• 
  United Arab States which North Yemen was a part of
  (1958–1961)

Yemen Arab Republic

North Yemen

Use	Historical
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	November 1, 1962; 62 years ago (1962-11-01) (slight adaptation from September 26, 1962)
Relinquished	May 22, 1990; 35 years ago (1990-05-22) (Yemeni unification)
Design	A horizontal tricolour of red, white, and black with a green five-pointed star in the centre

When the Egyptian-backed Yemen Arab Republic revolted against the imamate in 1962, a version of the Arab Liberation Flag with one green star in the center of the white band which symbolized unity and independence.^[7]

• 
  Yemen Arab Republic
  (1962, derived from the flag of the United Arab Republic)
• 
  Yemen Arab Republic
  (1962–1990)
• 
  Vertical standard

South Yemen

Main article: Flag of South Yemen

The flag of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in the South was a version of the Arab Liberation Flag with a light blue chevron which represented the people under the leadership of the National Liberation Front, with a red star next to the hoist representing the NLF itself and later the Socialist Party.^[7][8] The flag was adopted on 30 November 1967 when South Yemen declared independence from the United Kingdom until the Yemeni unification in 1990.^[7] It was used again for a few months in 1994 during the existence of the Democratic Republic of Yemen.

• 
  People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1967–1990)
• 
  People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1967–1990), Presidential Standard
• 
  Yemeni Socialist Party
• 
  Flag of South Yemen, vertical standard

See also

• Heraldry portal

• Emblem of Yemen
• Pan-Arab colors
• Flag of the Arab Revolt
• Flag of the German Empire
• Flag of Egypt
• Flag of Iraq
• Flag of Hungary (nearly identical design, blackish green stripe instead of black)