Flag of Cameroon explained

Republic of Cameroon
Use:111111
Proportion:2:3
Design:A vertical tricolour of green, red and yellow, with a gold star centred on the red band.

The national flag of Cameroon (French: drapeau du Cameroun) was adopted in its present form on 20 May 1975 after Cameroon became a unitary state. It is a vertical tricolour of green, red and yellow, with a yellow five-pointed star in its center. There is a wide variation in the size of the central star, although it is always contained within the inside stripe.

Description

The colour scheme uses the traditional Pan-African colours (Cameroon was the second state to adopt them). The centre stripe is thought to stand for unity: red is the colour of unity, and the star is referred to as "the star of unity". The yellow stands for the sun, and also the savannas in the northern part of the country, while the green is for the forests in the southern part of Cameroon.

The previous flag of Cameroon, used from 1961 to 1975, had a similar colour scheme, but with two gold (darker than the third stripe by comparison) stars in the upper half of the green. It was adopted after British Southern Cameroons joined the state of Cameroon.[1]

The original flag, made law by Law No. 46 of 26 October 1957, was the simple tricolour. It was confirmed on 21 February 1960 in the new constitution.

Military flags and ensigns

Military flags and ensigns of Cameroon are following British practice with different designs.

Colors

!!Green!Red!Yellow
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  1. ce1126
  1. fcd116

Similar colours

The flag of Cameroon uses the Pan-African colors that is used by many African countries in the region, most notably with similar designs in the flags of Senegal, Guinea and Mali.[2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. The International Flag Book in Color, Christian Fogd Pedersen (1971)
  2. News: Flag Similarity Tends to Confuse. March 4, 1962. May 24, 2013. The Spokesman-Review.