Flag of the Central African Republic

What the flag of the Central African Republic looks like

The flag of the Central African Republic has a ratio of 2:3. It is divided into four equal horizontal bands, from top to bottom: blue, white, green and yellow. A vertical red stripe runs across the middle of the flag and crosses all four bands. A yellow five-pointed star is placed in the upper hoist corner, on the blue band.

The red stripe is wide enough to work as a central axis, so the flag appears to be made of a cross of red over four color fields. Five colors appear in total: blue, white, green, yellow and red.

Central African Republic flag meaning and symbolism

The flag was designed to unite two color traditions. Blue and white stand for France, and green and yellow stand for Africa, while the red vertical stripe joins them in unity and in the respect that Europeans and Africans should have for each other.

Each color also has its own meaning. Blue represents the sky and freedom, white peace and dignity, green hope and faith, and yellow tolerance. Red represents the blood of humanity. The yellow star is the star of independence and stands for the country's aspirations toward a vibrant future, as well as African unity, progress and tolerance.

History of the Central African Republic flag

The area was known as Ubangi-Shari under French rule and was part of French Equatorial Africa. In 1958 it became an autonomous republic inside the French Community under the leadership of Barthélemy Boganda, who would become its first prime minister. Boganda designed the flag, originally intended for the United States of Latin Africa he proposed in 1957, and the Legislative Assembly adopted it on 1 December 1958. Boganda died in a plane crash in 1959 and did not see full independence, which came on 13 August 1960.

The flag was kept after independence. In 1976 President Jean-Bédel Bokassa considered replacing it with a design featuring a crescent and star, but the idea was short-lived: he soon became emperor of the Central African Empire, and the existing flag was re-used as the flag of the empire. The flag remained in place after the empire fell, and the same flag has been used ever since.

Flags that share its colors

Neighboring Cameroon uses the Pan-African green, red and yellow in vertical bands with a star, and the flags of the world list shows more African flags with the same colors.