Angola
At , Angola is the world's twenty-third largest country - comparable in size to Mali, or twice the size of France or of Texas. It lies mostly between latitudes 4° and 18°S, and longitudes 12° and 24°E.
Flag of Angola
The National Flag of the Republic of Angola has two horizontal bands of red and black with the Machete and Gear Emblem in gold in the center consisted of a five pointed-star within a half gear wheel crossed by a machete (resembling the hammer and sickle used on the Soviet flag). As outlined in the Constitution of Angola, the red half of the flag signifies bloodshed during Angola's independence struggle, and the black half symbolizes Africa. In the central emblem, the gear represents industrial workers, the machete represents peasantry and the star is shaped like the red star, symbolized socialism. The flag is most recently described and explained in article 162 of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Angola (Constitution) of August 25, 1992.
In 2003, a new, more "optimistic" flag was proposed by the Parliament's Constitutional Commission of the National Assembly (Angolan Parliament), but it was not adopted. The sun design in the middle is meant to be reminiscent of cave paintings found in Tchitundo-Hulu cave. The flag maintained the same flag proportions of 2:3.