Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

What the flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo looks like

The flag of the DR Congo has a sky-blue field. A red diagonal stripe runs from the lower hoist corner to the upper fly corner, and this stripe has a narrow yellow border (a fimbriation) on each side. In the upper hoist corner is a single yellow five-pointed star. The proportions are 3:4, so the flag is less wide than most national flags, which are usually 2:3.

The blue is a bright sky blue and not the darker blue of many other national flags, and the star is plain with no outline. The diagonal stripe is the feature that makes the flag stand out among African flags. The national flag carries no coat of arms.

You can see the same design in the DR Congo flag emoji, and in the files on the DR Congo flag download page.

DR Congo flag meaning and symbolism

The colors and symbols are explained in an official way that is close to the traditional one:

• Sky blue stands for peace and hope.
• Red stands for the blood of the country's martyrs and those who died for its independence.
• Yellow stands for the wealth of the country, which has large mineral resources.
• The star stands for a bright future and the unity of the nation. It is said to shine as a light for the people.

The single star links the flag to an older Congolese tradition. A gold star on a blue field was already used by the Congo Free State in the late 19th century, and it has returned on several later Congolese flags.

History of the DR Congo flag

The first flag of the territory was the blue flag with a gold star of the Congo Free State, which was the personal possession of King Leopold II of Belgium from 1885 until 1908. After that it became the Belgian Congo, a colony of Belgium.

When the country became independent on 30 June 1960, it adopted a sky-blue flag with a large yellow star in the upper hoist corner and six smaller stars in a row down the hoist side, one for each of its six provinces. In 1963 the flag changed to the present basic form, a blue field with a red diagonal stripe bordered in yellow and a single star. The country's name was Congo-Léopoldville at first, then the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1964.

In 1971, President Mobutu Sese Seko renamed the country Zaire and introduced a green flag with a yellow disc in the center. The disc held a hand holding a red torch. Mobutu was overthrown in 1997, and the country took back the name Democratic Republic of the Congo. For several years it returned to a blue flag with a large star and six small stars, in the style of 1960.

The current flag was adopted with the new constitution in February 2006. It brought back the design of 1963 to 1971.

Why are there two Congo flags?

Two African countries have "Congo" in their name. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has its capital in Kinshasa, and the Republic of the Congo, also called Congo-Brazzaville, has its capital in Brazzaville on the other side of the Congo River. The two flags are very different. The flag of the Republic of the Congo is a diagonal tricolor of green, yellow and red, while the DR Congo flag is blue with a red diagonal stripe.