vanuatu flag button

The flag of Vanuatu (Bislama: flaeg blong Vanuatu) was adopted on 18 February 1980. The green represents the richness of the islands, the red symbolises blood which unites humanity as humans, and the black the ni-Vanuatu people. The Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Father Walter Lini, requested the inclusion of yellow and black fimbriations to make the black stand out. The yellow Y-shape represents the shape of Vanuatu islands on the map and the light of the gospel going through the pattern of the islands in the Pacific Ocean (approximately 83% of the people of Vanuatu profess Christianity). The emblem in the black is a boar's tusk — the symbol of customs and tradition but also prosperity. Its worn as a pendant on the islands – along with two leaves of the local namele tree. These leaves are supposed to be a token of peace, and their 39 leaflets represent the original 39 members of the Parliament of Vanuatu.