Flag of Guinea
Africa
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Conakry
- Flag adopted
- 1958
- Population
- 14,363,931
- Area
- 245,857 km²
- Languages
- French
- Currency
- Guinean franc (Fr) — GNF
- Demonym
- Guinean
- Government
- presidential republic
- Subregion
- Western Africa
- Driving side
- Right
- Timezones
- UTC
- Independence
- 1958
Religions
- Muslim 85.2%
- Christian 13.4%
- None 1.2%
- Animist 0.2%
About This Flag
Three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow (center), and green (fly side). The flag is a deliberate mirror image of the flag of neighboring Mali, which uses the same colors in reverse order.
Adopted on November 10, 1958, Guinea's flag was created when it became the first French West African colony to gain independence after voting against de Gaulle's proposed French Community in a 1958 referendum. President Ahmed Sekou Toure chose a design inspired by Ghana's flag, rearranged into vertical bands echoing the French tricolor format.
What the colors & design mean
Red symbolizes the sacrifice of the people and the blood shed in the struggle against colonial rule. Yellow represents the sun and the country's mineral riches, particularly its vast bauxite reserves. Green stands for the vegetation and agricultural prosperity of the nation.
Pattern: Vertical Stripes
Bordering countries (6)
Fun Facts
- Guinea holds an estimated one-third to one-half of the world's known bauxite reserves, the primary ore for aluminum production.
- Guinea was the only French colony in Africa to reject Charles de Gaulle's 1958 constitutional referendum, immediately triggering independence.
- The flag is nearly identical to that of Mali but with reversed color order; the two are sometimes confused in international settings.
- Guinea's 1958 independence vote so angered France that French administrators reportedly destroyed infrastructure and removed equipment as they departed.
Similar looking flags
These flags share similar colors and patterns:
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