Flag of Fiji

What the flag of Fiji looks like

The flag of Fiji is a light blue ensign with a width-to-height ratio of 1:2. The Union Jack fills the canton, the top corner next to the pole. In the fly, the right half of the flag, sits the shield from the national coat of arms.

The shield is white with a red cross and a red chief (the upper third). On the chief a British lion holds a cocoa pod between its paws. The four quarters show, in turn, sugar cane, a coconut palm, a dove of peace and a bunch of bananas.

The colonial ensign used before independence had a darker shade of blue and showed the entire coat of arms rather than just the shield. The light blue stands for the Pacific Ocean. The colored shield also makes the Fijian flag easier to tell from Tuvalu, which has a similar light blue field with the Union Jack, but with yellow stars instead of a shield.

Fiji flag meaning and symbolism

The light blue background stands for the Pacific Ocean, which plays an important part in the lives of the islanders through fishing and tourism. The Union Jack reflects the country's links with the United Kingdom. The shield comes from the national coat of arms, which was granted by royal warrant in 1908.

The images on the shield represent agricultural activities on the islands and historical associations with the United Kingdom:

• Lion with a cocoa pod: a British lion, with the pod pointing to cocoa farming
• Sugar cane: the sugar industry
• Coconut palm: coconut growing
• Dove: peace
• Bananas: fruit growing

The coat of arms also carries a motto, Rerevaka na Kalou ka Doka na Tui, meaning "Fear God and honour the Queen". It is not shown on the flag, which has only the shield.

History of the Fiji flag

Fiji became a British colony in 1874, after the chiefs ceded the islands to Queen Victoria. Before that, the government of the Kingdom of Viti had used a flag with blue and white vertical stripes and a red shield with a white dove. The colonial ensign was a blue ensign in a darker shade of blue, with the entire coat of arms in the fly. The flag adopted on 10 October 1970, when Fiji became independent, is very similar but uses a lighter blue and only the shield.

The flag was kept unchanged when Fiji was declared a republic in 1987, despite calls from some politicians for change.

In 2013, the government of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama announced that the flag would be changed to reflect a new Fijian identity. A public competition for new designs followed, with over 2,000 submissions, but in August 2016 the government abandoned the plan.

Flags that look like the Fiji flag

Several Pacific nations have flags built on the Union Jack, such as Australia and New Zealand. Both use dark blue, though. Tuvalu comes closest, with a light blue field and a Union Jack in the canton. Of the countries that keep the Union Jack in their flags, only Fiji is a republic.