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Flag of Mali

Africa

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Quick Facts

Capital
Bamako
Flag adopted
1961
Population
22,395,489
Area
1,240,192 km²
Languages
French
Currency
West African CFA franc (Fr) — XOF
Demonym
Malian
Government
semi-presidential republic
Subregion
Western Africa
Driving side
Right
Timezones
UTC
Independence
1960

Religions

  • Muslim 93.9%
  • Christian 2.8%
  • None 2.5%
  • Animist 0.7%

About This Flag

Three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), gold (center), and red (fly side). The flag was adopted on March 1, 1961, shortly after Mali gained independence from France in 1960.

The design follows the Pan-African color scheme inspired by the Ethiopian flag. Green represents the fertility of the land, gold symbolizes purity and the country's mineral wealth, and red honors the blood shed in the struggle for independence.

An earlier version adopted in 1959 included a black human figure called a kanaga in the center, which was removed in 1961.

What the colors & design mean

Green stands for the fertility of Mali's land, gold represents purity and the country's abundant mineral resources, and red commemorates the blood shed by those who fought for freedom from colonial rule. The Pan-African colors reflect continental unity.

green yellow red

Pattern: Vertical Stripes

Bordering countries (7)

🇩🇿 Algeria 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 🇬🇳 Guinea 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast 🇲🇷 Mauritania 🇳🇪 Niger 🇸🇳 Senegal

Fun Facts

  • The original 1959 flag featured a black stick-figure human symbol called a kanaga, which was removed in 1961 because of Islamic concerns about depicting the human form.
  • The medieval Mali Empire was one of the richest in world history, and Emperor Mansa Musa remains often cited as the wealthiest person to have ever lived.
  • Timbuktu, located in Mali, was one of the world's great centers of learning in the 15th and 16th centuries, housing hundreds of thousands of manuscripts.
  • Mali's flag shares identical colors and layout with the flag of Guinea, but Guinea's bands are in reverse order.

Similar looking flags

These flags share similar colors and patterns:

🇲🇱 Benin 🇲🇱 Cameroon 🇲🇱 Guinea 🇲🇱 Senegal 🇲🇱 Portugal

More Africa Flags

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

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