Flag of Guinea-Bissau

Republic of Guinea-Bissau
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
Proportion1:2
Adopted24 September 1973; 51 years ago (1973-09-24)
(de facto)
10 September 1974; 50 years ago (1974-09-10)
(de jure)
DesignOne vertical red line on the hoist side charged with a black five-pointed star; two horizontal lines on the fly side (yellow and green)
East German stamp with portrait of Amílcar Cabral and the Guinea-Bissau flag

The national flag of Guinea-Bissau was adopted in 1973 when independence from Portugal was proclaimed.

Design

Canjadude, 1974: Running up the Guinea-Bissau flag after striking the Portuguese flag

Like the former flag of Cape Verde, the flag is based on that of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). The party was established in 1956 to peacefully campaign for independence from Portugal during its Estado Novo regime, but turned to armed conflict in the 1960s and was one of the belligerents in the 1963–74 Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. It is still the dominant party in Guinea-Bissau. The PAIGC party flag was derived from that of Ghana, which was the first design to use the Pan-African combination of red, yellow, green, and black in 1957.[citation needed]

In the Ghanaian view, the black star stands for the unity of Africa. Red stands for the blood shed during the struggle for independence, yellow stands for the sun, and green represents hope.[citation needed]

The flag features the traditional Pan-African colors of gold, green, red, and also the Black Star of Africa. The flag's design is heavily influenced by the flag of Ghana. The colors have the same meanings: specifically, the red is for the blood of martyrs, green for forests, and gold for mineral wealth.[citation needed]

Colors


(1973–present) 		Black Red Yellow Green
Pantone Black c 032c 109c 355c
CMYK 0-0-0-1 0-0.92-0.82-0.19 0-0.17-0.91-0.01 1-0-0.54-0.38
RGB 0-0-0 206-17-38 252-209-22 0-158-73
Hexadecimal #000000 #CE1126 #FCD116 #009E49

References

See also