Flag of Senegal
Three vertical stripes of green, yellow and red, with a small green five-pointed star in the middle of the yellow stripe.
At a glance
- Adopted
- August 20, 1960
- Shape (height : width)
- 2:3
- Capital
- Dakar
- Continent
- Africa
- Colours
- green
- yellow
- red
What it means
- Green: according to the government, the colour of Senegal's religions: the Prophet's colour in Islam, hope for Christians and fertility for traditional beliefs
- Yellow: wealth, the fruit of work, and also arts and learning
- Red: life, the sacrifices of the nation and the fight against poverty
- Green star: unity and hope; some say its five points show Senegal is open to the five continents
Where it came from
Senegal's flag grew out of the flag of the Mali Federation, a short-lived union of Senegal and French Sudan (today's Mali). Senegal kept the same stripes and colours and swapped the federation's small human figure, called a kanaga, for a green star. The three vertical stripes follow the pattern of the French tricolour.
History
In 1958-1959 Senegal used a green flag with a yellow star. On 4 April 1959 the Mali Federation adopted a green-yellow-red flag with a black kanaga figure.
When Senegal left the federation in August 1960 and became fully independent, it adopted the present flag with the star. In 2004 an opposition leader complained that a golden baobab tree had replaced the star on some official documents, saying this broke the constitution. The flag itself did not change.
Fun facts
- The star replaced a little human figure from the old Mali Federation flag.
- Green, yellow and red are Pan-African colours, first used by Ethiopia and later by Ghana.
- Long ago the three colours were linked to three political parties that joined into one.
- In 2004 a golden baobab tree showing up instead of the star on some official papers caused an argument.
Easy to mix up with
Mali
Cameroon
GuineaQuestions
What does the flag of Senegal look like?
Three vertical stripes of green, yellow and red, with a small green five-pointed star in the middle of the yellow stripe.
What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Senegal mean?
Green: according to the government, the colour of Senegal's religions: the Prophet's colour in Islam, hope for Christians and fertility for traditional beliefs; Yellow: wealth, the fruit of work, and also arts and learning; Red: life, the sacrifices of the nation and the fight against poverty; Green star: unity and hope; some say its five points show Senegal is open to the five continents.
When was the flag of Senegal adopted?
The current flag of Senegal was adopted on August 20, 1960.
What colours are on the flag of Senegal?
The flag of Senegal uses green, yellow and red.
Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Senegal?
It is easy to mix up with the flag of Mali. Mali has the same stripes but no star
Famous landmarks in Senegal
🎯 Play the flag quiz 🌍 Play the globe
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- crwflags.com
- Flag picture: flagcdn.com (Wikimedia Commons)