Flag of Sudan

According to World Flags 101:

Red, white, black and green are called the pan-Arab colours and have been historically linked to the Arab people and Islamic religion for centuries. The colours stand for Arab unity and independence. The red stripe represents Sudan's struggle for independence and many other struggles, and the sacrifices of the country's martyrs. The white represents the people, light and optimism. It also represents the White Flag League which was a nationalist group that rose up against colonial rule in 1924. The black represents Sudan; in Arabic, 'Sudan,' means ‘land of the black people.’ It also represents the black flag of nationalists who fought colonial rule during the Mahdist Revolution, late in 19th century. Green represents Islam, agriculture and the prosperity of the land.[1]

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  Flag of the President of Sudan

• 
  Air Force ensign

In 1881, at the beginning of the El-Mahadia War, El-Mahadi Muhammad Ahmad appointed Abdallahi (altaeayushi) ibn Muhammad as one of his four caliphs (Khalifa) and handed him a black flag.[2] Abdallahi used his black flag to recruit Baggara Arabs and other tribes from the west. The other caliphs used differently coloured flags.[3] The black horizontal stripe in the current Sudanese flag is a reference to this Mahdist-era black flag.[4]

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  Flag used during the Mahdist Revolt and in Mahdist Sudan (1881–1899)
• 
  Banner used by the Mahdist Army; captured at Omdurman in 1898.
• 
  The black standard was also used in Mahdist Sudan

Between 1899 and 1956, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was administered jointly as a condominium by Egypt and the United Kingdom. The condominium did not have its own flag; instead the flag of Egypt and the flag of the United Kingdom were always flown together, with the British flag taking precedence.[5]

A flag did exist as a rank flag for the British Governor General of the Sudan. In common with the rank flags of governors and commissioners of other British overseas territories, it consisted of a Union Flag defaced with a white disk bearing the territory's badge or coat of arms, surrounded by a wreath of laurel. As no badge or coat of arms existed for Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the disk instead contained the words "GOVERNOR GENERAL OF THE SUDAN".

At the Afro–Asian Conference held between 18 and 24 April 1955, Sudan was represented by a white flag bearing the name "SUDAN" in red capital letters.[6][7][8]

• 
  Flags used in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1914–1922)
• 
  Flags used in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1922–1956)
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  Flag of the British Governor General
• 
  Flag of the Sudan Defence Force (1925–1956)
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  Provisional flag of Sudan used during the Afro-Asian Conference (April 1955)[9]

Republic of Sudan

Use	National flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	1956
Relinquished	1970; 14 years of use
Design	A horizontal tricolour of blue, yellow and green.
Designed by	Macki Sufi

Upon independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom on 1 January 1956, Sudan adopted a blue-yellow-green tricolour as its national flag. This flag was designed by the poet Macki Sufi[10] and remained in use until 1970, when the current flag was adopted.[11] The colours of the flag represented the River Nile (blue), the Sahara (yellow) and farmlands (green). They were chosen as they were neutral between ethnic groups and political parties.[12]

Use of this flag resurfaced during the 2018–19 Sudanese protests.[13][14][15][16][17]

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  Flag of the Republic of the Sudan (1956–1969)
• 
  Naval ensign (1956–1970)
• 
  Customs ensign (1956–1970)

Following a coup d'état in May 1969, the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Sudan and a competition was held to design a new flag. The winning entry was designed by artist Abdel Rahman Ahmed Al-Jali based on pan-Arab colors and was adopted as the national flag in May 1970.[10]

• 
  Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan (1969–1970)
• 
  Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan (1970–1985)
• 
  Standard of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan.

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  Kordofan

• 
  Blue Nile State
• 
  Central Darfur[19]
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  North Darfur[20]
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  South Darfur[21]
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  West Darfur[22]
• 
  Kassala State[23]
• 
  Khartoum State
• 
  Al Qadarif State[24]

• 
  Abyei Area[25]