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Flag of the Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands flag is only the second flag to represent the islands. It is the successor to a colonial flag that represented the Solomon Islands while they were part of the British Empire, but the current flag does not include any references to the colonial flag. The people of the Solomon Islands wanted to make a clean break with the colonial past when they gained their independence, and they went to great lengths to give the Solomon Islands flag meaning as a symbol of the new era rather than allowing it to serve as a reference to the past.

• Capital of Solomon Islands: Honiara
• Area of Solomon Islands: 27,540 sq. km
• Languages used in Solomon Islands: Melanesian pidgin, English (official)
• Religions in Solomon Islands: Church of Melanesia, Roman Catholic, South Seas Evangelical, Seventh-Day Adventist, United Church, Christian Fellowship Church, other Christian

Colors and Symbolism of the Solomon Islands Flag

The Solomon Islands flag has a field of light blue and dark green that is bisected by a diagonal stripe of yellow that runs between the lower-hoist and upper-fly corners of the flag. A set of five white stars with five points are placed in the flag's canton to represent the five major island groups that make up the Solomon Islands. The flag's colors also help to give the Solomon Islands flag meaning. The blue section of the flag that contains the stars represents the ocean that surrounds the islands, while the green portion of the flag represents the land itself and the yellow stripe represents the sun.

History of the Solomon Islands Flag

The first flag to represent the Solomon Islands was granted to the islands by the British Empire. It followed the same pattern as most of the other flags in the British Empire, so it consisted of a dark blue field that featured the Union Jack in the canton and the colonial coat of arms in the fly. That coat of arms was made up of a white disc that surrounded a shield, which displayed a British lion above several symbols of the islands themselves.

The modern flag was adopted in 1977 after a competition was held to select the design. The results of the contest were highly controversial, and the original winning design had to be rejected in light of that controversy. The modern flag of the Solomon Islands was chosen as a compromise, but it has still managed to represent the Solomon Islands for years without undergoing any changes after its adoption.