Green and Yellow Flags

Which countries have green and yellow flags?

The flags group into four families.

• Green, yellow and red tricolors in Africa: Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Togo, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Mauritania and São Tomé & Príncipe. Ethiopia pioneered the palette. Stripes are vertical in Mali, Senegal, Guinea and Cameroon, and horizontal in Ghana.
• Americas: Brazil (yellow diamond on green), Bolivia (red, yellow, green horizontal stripes), Jamaica (gold cross on green and black), Guyana, Grenada, Dominica and St. Kitts & Nevis.
• Europe and Asia: Lithuania (yellow, green, red horizontal stripes) and Myanmar (yellow, green, red with a white star).
• Islands and others: the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Tanzania, Rwanda, Gabon, Eritrea, Central African Republic, St. Vincent & Grenadines and South Africa.

To pick them out, remember that Ghana has a black star, Senegal a green star and Mali none, while Guinea simply reverses the order of Mali.

Why are green and yellow so common on flags?

Green stands for land, forests and farming, and yellow for sun, gold or mineral wealth. The pair is easy to draw, and works as a natural pair for tropical countries.

The main reason for the African cluster is history. Ethiopia was never colonized for long and its green, yellow and red flag became a symbol of independence. When Ghana became the first sub-Saharan colony to gain independence in 1957, it used red, gold and green with a black star, and many nations followed. Together these colors form the Pan-African palette.

Brazil's green and yellow date from the imperial era and are traditionally linked to the royal houses of Braganza and Habsburg. Lithuania's flag was adopted in 1918 and restored in 1989 and uses yellow for sunlight and fields, green for forests, and red for the blood shed in defense of the country.