Flag of Ghana
Africa
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Accra
- Flag adopted
- 1957
- Population
- 33,742,380
- Area
- 238,533 km²
- Languages
- English
- Currency
- Ghanaian cedi (₵) — GHS
- Demonym
- Ghanaian
- Government
- presidential republic
- Subregion
- Western Africa
- Driving side
- Right
- Timezones
- UTC
- Independence
- 1957
Religions
- Christian 71.3%
- Muslim 19.9%
- Other 4.5%
- traditionalist 3.2%
- None 1.1%
About This Flag
Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), gold (middle), and green (bottom) with a large five-pointed black star centered on the gold band. Designed by Theodosia Okoh, the flag was adopted on March 6, 1957, when Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from colonial rule.
The flag was briefly replaced during 1964-1966 when the gold band was changed to white under Kwame Nkrumah's one-party state, but the original design was restored after his overthrow. It was the first African flag after Ethiopia's to use the Pan-African colors.
What the colors & design mean
Red commemorates those who worked and died for independence. Gold represents the country's mineral wealth, particularly its historical gold resources that gave it the colonial name Gold Coast. Green symbolizes the rich forests and natural wealth. The black star is the lodestar of African freedom and Pan-African unity.
Pattern: Horizontal Stripes
Bordering countries (3)
Fun Facts
- The Black Star of Ghana inspired the name of the Black Stars, Ghana's national football team.
- Designer Theodosia Okoh was a teacher and artist who beat several other entries in a national competition; she chose the colors specifically to replace the colonial flag.
- Ghana's flag directly inspired the flags of Guinea, Mali, Cameroon, and several other newly independent African nations in the 1960s.
- Ghana was known as the Gold Coast before independence, and its gold exports remain significant to this day.
Similar looking flags
These flags share similar colors and patterns:
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