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Flag of Central African Republic

Africa

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Quick Facts

Capital
Bangui
Flag adopted
1958
Population
6,470,307
Area
622,984 km²
Languages
French, Sango
Currency
Central African CFA franc (Fr) — XAF
Demonym
Central African
Government
presidential republic
Subregion
Middle Africa
Driving side
Right
Timezones
UTC+01:00
Independence
1960

Religions

  • Protestant 38.6%
  • Roman Catholic 34.6%
  • Muslim 13.8%
  • ethnic religionist 12%
  • Agnostic 0.7%
  • Baha'i 0.2%

About This Flag

Four horizontal stripes — blue on top, white, green, and yellow on the bottom — divided by a vertical red stripe running down the center from top to bottom. In the upper-left corner sits a yellow five-pointed star.

The flag uniquely combines the pan-African colors (green, yellow, and red) with the French tricolor colors (blue, white, and red) to honor both African heritage and historical ties with France. The red vertical stripe represents the blood that unites all humanity and links the two color traditions.

The yellow star symbolizes independence and African unity. Designed by Barthelemy Boganda, the founder of the nation, the flag was adopted on December 1, 1958, prior to full independence in 1960.

What the colors & design mean

Blue represents the sky and freedom. White symbolizes peace and dignity. Green stands for hope and faith. Yellow represents tolerance and the savanna. Red unites the pan-African and French tricolor palettes, symbolizing the blood of humanity. The yellow star represents independence.

blue white green yellow red

Pattern: Horizontal Stripes

Bordering countries (6)

🇨🇲 Cameroon 🇹🇩 Chad 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo 🇸🇸 South Sudan 🇸🇩 Sudan

Fun Facts

  • The Central African Republic flag is one of the most colorful national flags in the world, using five distinct colors in its design — more than most other flags.
  • Barthelemy Boganda, who designed the flag, died in a mysterious plane crash in 1959, just months before the country gained full independence, and is revered as the founding father.
  • The concept of merging pan-African and French tricolor colors into a single flag is virtually unique to the Central African Republic among world flags.
  • Despite its name, the country is not actually at the geographic center of Africa — it lies in the central-northern part of the continent.

Similar looking flags

These flags share similar colors and patterns:

🇨🇫 Comoros 🇨🇫 South Sudan 🇨🇫 Equatorial Guinea 🇨🇫 Ethiopia 🇨🇫 Gambia

More Africa Flags

🇩🇿 Algeria · 🇦🇴 Angola · 🇧🇯 Benin · 🇧🇼 Botswana · 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso · 🇧🇮 Burundi · 🇨🇲 Cameroon · 🇨🇻 Cape Verde

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