Flag of Cameroon

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.

Republic of Cameroon
UseNational flag and ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is mirror image of obverse side
Proportion2:3
AdoptedMay 20, 1975
DesignA vertical tricolour of green, red and yellow, with a gold star centred on the red band.
The flag of Cameroon on a flagpole

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
HEX #007a5e #ce1126 #fcd116

Other flags
  • Flag of the German Colonial Office
    Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagFlag of the German Colonial Office
  • Flag of German Cameroon (proposed but never used)
    Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagFlag of German Cameroon (proposed but never used)
  • Flag of French Cameroon (1916–1960)
    Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagFlag of French Cameroon (1916–1960)
  • Flag of British Cameroons (1922–1961)
    Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagFlag of British Cameroons (1922–1961)
  • Flag of the State of Cameroon (1957–1960), then Republic of Cameroon (1960–1961).
    Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagFlag of the State of Cameroon (1957–1960), then Republic of Cameroon (1960–1961).
  • Flag of the Federal Republic of Cameroon (1961–1975)
    Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagFlag of the Federal Republic of Cameroon (1961–1975)

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

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