Yemen Flags – Yemeni Flag, Bunting & Hand Flags

The Yemen flag: red, white and black

The flag of Yemen is a plain horizontal tricolour of red, white and black, with no emblem. The three are pan-Arab colours: red is usually explained as the blood of those who sacrificed for the nation and its unity, white as hope for a bright future, and black as the dark days of the past. The flag was adopted on 22 May 1990, the day North and South Yemen united as the Republic of Yemen, and it combined the flags of the two former states, the north’s tricolour with a green star and the south’s with a blue triangle and red star, by dropping both emblems. It is easy to confuse with neighbouring designs: Egypt adds a golden eagle, Syria two green stars and Iraq green script on the white band, so a plain band of white is the Yemeni version. Our Yemen flag uses a bright red and true black for a clean, high-contrast tricolour.

Unity Day, Eid and Britain’s Yemeni community

22 May, Unity Day, is the national day, and the flag is also prominent at Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha gatherings and at community celebrations. Yemenis have one of the longest histories of any Arab community in Britain. Sailors from Aden worked on British steamships from the late nineteenth century and settled in South Shields, Cardiff, Liverpool and Hull, and South Shields’ Al-Azhar mosque became famous when Muhammad Ali had his wedding blessing there in 1977. Later generations came to work in the steel and metal trades of Sheffield, Birmingham and the Black Country. Today the flag is flown at community centres, mosques, cultural festivals, charity walks and family occasions, and by supporters of the national football team, which reached its first Asian Cup finals in 2019.

Sizes, grades and fittings

Sizes: 20x12in, 3ft x 2ft, 5ft x 3ft and 8ft x 5ft. A 5ft x 3ft is the usual choice for a pole or for carrying; the 3ft x 2ft fits a wall or a car window display. Flagtex is the lower-cost lightweight woven print, DuraFlag the heavier knitted fabric with double-stitched hems. Brass eyelets are fitted to both, and a Yemen DuraFlag can be switched to clips or rope and toggle.

Yemen bunting

Yemen bunting runs the red, white and black on rectangular pennants in 3m and 9m lengths, used for Eid parties, community halls, restaurants and shop fronts. It is double-sided polyester that can be used outdoors.

Hand flags and table flags

Yemen hand flags on wooden sticks come in 9x6in and 18x12in for marches, festivals and football. The Yemen table flag is 6x4in with a base, and the large wooden table flag at 18x12in is for a reception or meeting table. Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Egypt are among the world flags.

Yemen flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Yemen Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, Flagtex or DuraFlag)from £6.99
• Yemen Bunting (3m or 9m)from £9.98
• Yemen Hand Flags (9x6in, 18x12in)from £5.99
• Yemen Table Flag 6x4in with Basefrom £1.98
• Yemen Large Wooden Table Flagfrom £3.98