horizontally striped black-red-green national flag with a red half-sun on the black stripe. The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 2 to 3.

The British territory of Nyasaland (now Malaŵi) was granted a coat of arms on May 11, 1914. It showed a leopard standing on a rock against a white background, but the top of the shield was black bearing a golden sun. The Latin motto beneath, “Lux in tenebris,” is translated as “Light out of darkness”; it is suggestive of the British self-image as protectors and civilizers of the territory. This shield was used in the British Blue Ensign to represent the territory.

When elections were held in 1961, the Malaŵi Congress Party obtained more than 90 percent of the votes. Its party flag consisted of three equal horizontal stripes of black, red, and green. These respectively symbolized the African people of the territory, the blood of martyrs for the national flag, and the ever-green nature of Malaŵi. The country's name means “flaming waters,” referring to the setting sun on Lake Nyasa (Nyasa, Lake) (known in Malaŵi as Lake Malaŵi). When independence was achieved on July 6, 1964, the flag of the Malaŵi Congress Party became the basis for the new national flag. The sun from the coat of arms (arms, coat of) of 1914 was added in red to the top stripe of the national flag to distinguish it from the party flag.