National Flag of the Republic of Seychelles (1996)

Situated in the western Indian Ocean and consisting of about 100 islands, the archipelago nation of Seychelles was named in 1796, after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, then finance minister for King Louis XV of France.

Great Britain took control of country in the early 19th century and anglicised its French name Séchelles to Seychelles.

The current flag of Seychelles is the third flag adopted by the nation since its independence from Great Britain on the 29th of June 1976.

In 1977, Seychelles’ first independent government was overthrown in a political coup led by an opposition political party. The change of government led to the adoption of a new national flag and to the declaration of a one-party political state.

The current flag design was adopted on the 8th of January 1996 and is the result of the re-introduction of multi-party politics to the country. 

It incorporates the colours of Seychelles' two main political parties, the Seychelles People’s United Party and the Democratic Party.

The Symbolic Meaning

Red, white and green are the colours of the Seychelles People’s United Party and Blue and Yellow represent the Democratic Party.

Individually, blue symbolises the sea and sky, yellow represents the sun, red symbolises the people and unity, white connotes justice and harmony, while green symbolises the land.

The expanding thickness of the stripes symbolises the growth and vitality of Seychelles.