Flag of Cameroon
Africa
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Yaoundé
- Flag adopted
- 1975
- Population
- 29,442,327
- Area
- 475,442 km²
- Languages
- English, French
- Currency
- Central African CFA franc (Fr) — XAF
- Demonym
- Cameroonian
- Government
- presidential republic
- Subregion
- Middle Africa
- Driving side
- Right
- Timezones
- UTC+01:00
- Independence
- 1960
Religions
- Protestant 33.2%
- Roman Catholic 33.1%
- Muslim 30.6%
- Animist 1.3%
- None 1.2%
- Other 0.7%
About This Flag
Three equal vertical bands of green on the hoist side, red in the center, and yellow on the fly side, with a yellow five-pointed star centered on the red band. The tricolor arrangement follows the pan-African color tradition inspired by the Ethiopian flag.
Green represents the lush vegetation of the southern forests, red symbolizes national unity and the blood of those who fought for independence, and yellow stands for the savannas of the north and the sun. The star is known as the 'star of unity,' referencing the reunification of French Cameroun and the southern portion of British Cameroons.
The current flag was adopted on May 20, 1975, replacing a version that bore two smaller stars instead of one.
What the colors & design mean
Green represents the dense forests of the south. Red symbolizes unity between the north and south and the sacrifice for independence. Yellow stands for the sun and the savannas of the north. The single star, called the star of unity, celebrates the reunification of the French and British territories.
Pattern: Vertical Stripes
Bordering countries (6)
Fun Facts
- Cameroon has had three flag variations since independence: first with no star (1957), then with two stars representing the federated states (1961), and finally the current single-star version celebrating full unification (1975).
- Cameroon is often called 'Africa in miniature' because it contains nearly every type of African climate and landscape, from coastal rainforests to Sahel desert.
- The country's name derives from the Portuguese word 'camaroes' (shrimp), after the shrimp-filled Wouri River estuary that Portuguese explorers encountered in the 15th century.
- Cameroon is the only African nation to have been colonized by three different European powers — Germany, France, and Britain — in succession.
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