The flag of the Republic of Nauru was officially approved as a symbol of statehood in January 1968, when the country gained independence.
Description and proportions of the flag of Nauru
The flag of Nauru has a shape that is traditional for the absolute majority of flags of independent states on the political map of the world. The sides of the rectangle are in a 2: 1 ratio. The national flag of Nauru, according to the law of the country, can be used on land only by official institutions, and on water - by state vessels. Individuals, military forces, personal ships and commercial navy are not allowed to fly the national flag of Nauru for their own purposes.
The flag of the Republic of Nauru has the deep blue color of its main field. It is horizontally divided by a narrow yellow stripe, forming two parts of the flag equal in width and area. In the lower field, on the half closest to the shaft, there is a white star with twelve rays.
The blue color of the banner symbolizes the endless waters of the Pacific Ocean, in which the state of Noiru is located. The equator on the flag is indicated by a yellow stripe, and the star is the island itself, which is located only 42 kilometers south of the line dividing the planet into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The number of rays of the star denotes a peaceful existence on a small island of twelve tribes.
The colors of the Noiru flag are repeated on the country's coat of arms, created also in the year of independence. The main motif of the coat of arms is a heraldic shield, divided into three parts. Its upper half is a wicker field, made in yellow, on which a symbol from alchemy is applied. It means the mineral phosphorus, and its appearance on the coat of arms of Nauru is due to the fact that a large phosphorite deposit was developed on the island in the past. The lower part of the coat of arms is vertically divided into two fields, one of which depicts a frigate sitting on a red pole, and the other depicts a branch of a flowering plant.
History of the flag of Nauru
The smallest island state in the world, Nauru was annexed by Germany in 1888 and the German tricolor was considered the country's flag. During the First World War, the Australians seized the island and began to actively develop phosphorite deposits here. In 1923, the state acquired the status of a mandated territory of the League of Nations, and all these years its flag was a blue cloth with a British symbol in the upper quarter at the flagpole.
The struggle for the country's independence unfolded in the 1950s and led to the acquisition of sovereignty and a new flag of an independent state in 1968. Since then, the flag of Nauru has not changed.
