Flag of Burkina Faso
The flag of Burkina Faso has two horizontal stripes, red on top and green below, with a yellow five-pointed star in the middle.
At a glance
- Adopted
- August 4, 1984
- Shape (height : width)
- 2:3
- Capital
- Ouagadougou
- Continent
- Africa
- Colours
- red
- green
- yellow (star)
What it means
- Red: the revolution and the struggle of the people; some explanations also mention the blood of those who died for it
- Green: farming, natural wealth, plenty and hope
- Yellow star: the guiding light of the revolution; yellow is also linked to the country's riches
Where it came from
The flag was adopted on 4 August 1984, exactly one year after Captain Thomas Sankara came to power in a revolution. On the same day the country changed its name from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, often translated as "land of the upright (honest) people".
Its red, green and yellow are the pan-African colours, first used by Ethiopia. Choosing them showed a break with the colonial past and friendship with other African nations.
History
Upper Volta became independent from France in 1960. Its first flag had three horizontal stripes of black, white and red, standing for the Black, White and Red Volta, the three main rivers that join to form the Volta River.
That old flag looked almost exactly like the flag of the old German Empire. When the country was renamed in 1984, it got the new red and green flag, which is still used today.
Fun facts
- The country got a new name and a new flag on the very same day.
- Its old flag was named after rivers: the Black, White and Red Volta.
- The constitution names only the colours green, red and yellow-gold, without exact shades.
- Burkina Faso's name mixes words from two of the country's languages.
Easy to mix up with
Vietnam
Cameroon
MoroccoQuestions
What does the flag of Burkina Faso look like?
The flag of Burkina Faso has two horizontal stripes, red on top and green below, with a yellow five-pointed star in the middle.
What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Burkina Faso mean?
Red: the revolution and the struggle of the people; some explanations also mention the blood of those who died for it; Green: farming, natural wealth, plenty and hope; Yellow star: the guiding light of the revolution; yellow is also linked to the country's riches.
When was the flag of Burkina Faso adopted?
The current flag of Burkina Faso was adopted on August 4, 1984.
What colours are on the flag of Burkina Faso?
The flag of Burkina Faso uses red, green and yellow (star).
Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Burkina Faso?
It is easy to mix up with the flag of Vietnam. Vietnam also has a yellow star, but on an all-red flag
Famous landmarks in Burkina Faso
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Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- crwflags.com
- Flag picture: flagcdn.com (Wikimedia Commons)