The flag of Suriname has five horizontal bands. From top to bottom, they are green, white, red, white, and green, with a large yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band.
The bands are not all the same width. The central red band is the widest, each green band is also substantial, and the two white bands are narrower. The colors carry symbolic meanings: green represents the fertility and richness of the land, white represents freedom and justice, and red represents progress and hope.
Suriname adopted this flag on 25 November 1975, the day it became independent from the Netherlands. It emerged from a national design competition won by Jack Pinas, an art teacher and graphic designer. The flag replaced an earlier design used from 1959 to 1975, which showed five differently colored stars linked by a black ellipse.
The central star represents national unity and the promise of a bright future. Its placement in the red band makes it easy to distinguish Suriname’s flag from other green, white, and red tricolors.