The flag of South Sudan was adopted following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War.

The flag was designed by Samuel Ajak,[citation needed] who was an artist and brigadier general for the Sudan People's Liberation Army under revolutionary leader John Garang.

To address the discrepancies, on 25 August 2023, the Media Authority of South Sudan released an advisory to advertisement and printing companies identifying the correct version of the flag as having a light blue chevron and upright star.

It is now illegal in South Sudan to distribute alternate reproductions of the flag which feature a dark blue chevron or tilted star.

It shares the black, white, red, and green of the Sudanese flag (although the colours' symbolism are different), in addition to having a chevron along the hoist.