---
title: "Flag of Ethiopia: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Ethiopia flag stands for, its official 1:2 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/ethiopia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# 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

*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.*

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

## 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

- [Ethiopia](https://atoneplace.net/country/ethiopia/)
- [Every flag with green in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/green/)
- [The flag of India](https://atoneplace.net/flag/india/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)
- [The flag of Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/flag/mexico/)
- [The flag of Ireland](https://atoneplace.net/flag/ireland/)
- [The flag of South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/flag/south-africa/)
- [The flag of Jamaica](https://atoneplace.net/flag/jamaica/)
- [The flag of Pakistan](https://atoneplace.net/flag/pakistan/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]