Flags of Africa

Colors and symbols on African flags

Three colors dominate: green, yellow (or gold) and red. They come from Ethiopia, one of the few African states that kept its independence, whose green-yellow-red flag inspired many independence movements. This set is called the Pan-African palette. Ghana used it in 1957 and added a black star, and Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Cameroon, Benin and Togo followed in different layouts.

In the north, the Pan-Arab colors (red, white, black and green) appear on Egypt, Sudan and Libya. Crescents and stars mark flags of predominantly Muslim countries such as Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania. Stars are widespread across the continent, and some flags carry unusual emblems: Mozambique shows a rifle, a hoe and a book, Kenya a Maasai shield with spears, and Uganda a crested crane.

Island nations have their own look. Mauritius uses four horizontal bands of red, blue, yellow and green, Seychelles fans five colors from the lower corner, and Cape Verde has a circle of ten stars. The four territories on the page, Western Sahara, Réunion, Mayotte and Saint Helena, use designs linked to their wider political status.

Oldest and newest African flags

Ethiopia's colors are the oldest in continuous use in Africa, though the emblem in the center has changed several times. Morocco has long flown a plain red banner and added its green pentagram in 1915. Many other flags date from the independence wave of 1957 to 1968.

The newest are South Sudan, which raised its flag in 2011 when it became independent, and South Africa, whose six-color design was introduced in 1994 at the end of apartheid. Libya brought back its red, black and green flag in 2011, replacing a plain green one used since 1977. Mauritania added two red bands in 2017, and Malawi switched its sun design in 2010 and reverted in 2012.

Look-alike flags people confuse

Several African flags are close cousins. Mali (green, yellow, red) and Guinea (red, yellow, green) use the same stripes in reverse order. Senegal adds a green star to Mali's layout. Chad is almost identical to Romania's flag, with blue, yellow and red verticals. Niger (orange, white, green with an orange disc) is often taken for India's flag, and Ivory Coast is the mirror image of Ireland's.

The two Congos are easy to mix up. The Republic of the Congo has green and red triangles split by a yellow diagonal band, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo is sky blue with a red diagonal stripe and a yellow star. The Central African Republic combines four horizontal bands with a red vertical stripe and a yellow star. For other regions, see Asia or all the flags of the world.