Flag of the Republic of the Congo

What the flag of the Republic of the Congo looks like

The flag of the Republic of the Congo is divided diagonally. A wide yellow band runs from the bottom of the hoist side to the top of the fly side. Above the band is a green triangle at the upper hoist, and below it a red triangle at the lower fly. The proportions are 2:3, and the three colors take roughly equal shares of the flag.

There is no emblem. The three colors are the Pan-African colors of green, yellow and red, which are used in the flags of many African countries such as Ghana, Senegal and Ethiopia, but in this flag they are arranged on a diagonal, which is unusual and makes it easy to recognize. The country is in Central Africa, with Brazzaville as its capital. You can see more at flags of Africa.

Congo flag meaning and colors

The colors have the usual Pan-African associations, with some specific readings for the Congo. They are traditional and not defined in detail by the law:

• Green stands for the forests and agriculture of the country. Much of the Republic of the Congo is covered in tropical rain forest.
• Yellow is linked to the friendship and nobility of the Congolese people.
• Red stands for the struggle for independence and the blood shed for it, and for the unity and generosity of the people.

History of the Congo flag

The area was part of French Equatorial Africa, and the colony was called Middle Congo (Moyen-Congo). In 1958 it became an autonomous republic within the French Community, and the green, yellow and red diagonal flag was adopted in 1959. The country became fully independent on 15 August 1960 and kept this flag.

In 1969 the country turned toward Marxism-Leninism, and in 1970 it was renamed the People's Republic of the Congo. The government replaced the tricolor with a plain red flag that carried a yellow emblem of crossed hammer and hoe and a star in the upper hoist corner. That flag was used until 1991, when the one-party system ended. At the national conference of that year, the old green, yellow and red flag was brought back, and on 10 June 1991 it was officially re-adopted. The country has used it since, under the name Republic of the Congo.

Why are there two Congo flags?

Two countries in Central Africa have Congo in their name, and both are named after the Congo River. The Republic of the Congo is on the river's west bank and was a French colony. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is much larger, lies to the east and south, and was a Belgian colony. Their capitals, Brazzaville and Kinshasa, face each other across the river.

The flags are not alike. The DR Congo flag has a sky-blue field with a red diagonal stripe edged in yellow and a yellow star in the upper hoist. It has changed several times: a similar design was used from 1963, the country was renamed Zaire in 1971 with a green flag, and the present flag was adopted in 2006. The Republic of the Congo never changed its name to Zaire. Check the flag of the DR Congo for the details.