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The flag of Ethiopia

The flag of Ethiopia
Three equal horizontal bands of green, yellow and red, with a blue disc at the centre bearing a yellow pentagram and rays.
Ratio 1:2 · current design adopted 1996

Ethiopia's green, gold and red tricolour of 1897 is the original from which the Pan-African colour scheme spreads: as the only African state to remain independent through the colonial period, it became the reference point, and Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon and others took the palette from it. The blue disc and star were added in 1996, replacing a series of political emblems. Rastafari movements adopted the same colours from Ethiopia in the 1930s, which is why they carry that association in the Caribbean. The 1:2 ratio is longer than most African flags.

What the colours mean

  • Green #078930 The land, hope, and fertility
  • Yellow #FCDD09 Peace, and religious freedom
  • Red #DA121A Sacrifice and strength
  • Blue #0F47AF The disc; peace

Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.

The symbols on it

What What it stands for
Yellow pentagram with rays The unity and equality of Ethiopia's peoples, and a bright future
Ratio
1:2
Current design adopted
1996
Colours
green, yellow, red, blue

Common questions

What does the flag of Ethiopia look like?
Three equal horizontal bands of green, yellow and red, with a blue disc at the centre bearing a yellow pentagram and rays.
What do the colours of the Ethiopia flag mean?
Green: the land, hope, and fertility. Yellow: peace, and religious freedom. Red: sacrifice and strength. Blue: the disc; peace.
When was the Ethiopia flag adopted?
The current design dates from 1996, and its official ratio is 1:2.

Related pages

Sources

  1. The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))

How these figures are compiled and checked