Flag of Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau's flag has a red vertical band at the flagpole side with a black five-pointed star, and two horizontal stripes, yellow over green, on the rest of the flag.
At a glance
- Adopted
- September 24, 1973
- Shape (height : width)
- 1:2
- Capital
- Bissau
- Continent
- Africa
- Colours
- red
- yellow
- green
- black
What it means
- Red: the blood shed in the fight for independence
- Yellow: the savannas of the north and the fruits of work; some sources also say the sun or mineral wealth
- Green: the forests of the south, farming and hope
- Black star: the Black Star of Africa: the people of Africa, and the leadership of the independence party
Where it came from
The flag comes from the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), the movement co-founded by Amilcar Cabral that fought Portuguese rule. The party adopted its flag in 1961; the national flag is the same, but without the party's initials under the star.
Its colours and black star were inspired by Ghana's flag and the Pan-African colours.
History
Guinea-Bissau was a Portuguese colony and flew Portugal's flag. The PAIGC declared independence on 24 September 1973 (some sources say 23 September), and the flag was adopted that day.
The flag has not changed since. Cape Verde, the island nation that was once linked with Guinea-Bissau in the same party, used a similar flag until 1992.
Fun facts
- The first constitution said the red, yellow and green areas should be equal in size.
- The flag was designed with a future union with Guinea and Ghana in mind.
- Insulting the flag in public can be punished by up to three years in prison.
Easy to mix up with
Ghana
BeninQuestions
What does the flag of Guinea-Bissau look like?
Guinea-Bissau's flag has a red vertical band at the flagpole side with a black five-pointed star, and two horizontal stripes, yellow over green, on the rest of the flag.
What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Guinea-Bissau mean?
Red: the blood shed in the fight for independence; Yellow: the savannas of the north and the fruits of work; some sources also say the sun or mineral wealth; Green: the forests of the south, farming and hope; Black star: the Black Star of Africa: the people of Africa, and the leadership of the independence party.
When was the flag of Guinea-Bissau adopted?
The current flag of Guinea-Bissau was adopted on September 24, 1973.
What colours are on the flag of Guinea-Bissau?
The flag of Guinea-Bissau uses red, yellow, green and black.
Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Guinea-Bissau?
It is easy to mix up with the flag of Ghana. Ghana has the same colours and black star, but in three horizontal stripes
Famous landmarks in Guinea-Bissau
🎯 Play the flag quiz 🌍 Play the globe
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- crwflags.com
- Flag picture: flagcdn.com (Wikimedia Commons)