Flag of Cameroon

The flag of Cameroon has three vertical stripes, green, red and yellow, with a golden star in the centre. Its colours are the Pan-African ones, shared by many African countries. And its history is that of a territory that split in two and then came back together: that is why it has had zero, two and one star.

How it came about

In 1884 Cameroon became a German colony. After the First World War Germany lost its colonies and the territory was divided: France kept most of it and the United Kingdom took two strips next to Nigeria.

The French part gained autonomy in 1957 and that same year, in October, adopted its own flag: three green, red and yellow stripes, with no ornament at all. The drawing in three vertical stripes recalls the French flag. The colours come from the Ethiopian flag, one of the few African countries that was never a colony, and Cameroon was the second country to use them, after Ghana. Independence came in 1960 with that same flag.

How it has changed

Every change in the flag goes with a change in the way the country is organised.

1. 

   1884-1916

   Germany did not give its colonies flags of their own: the German Empire’s flag flew in Cameroon.

2. 

   1916-1957

   In the French part the French tricolour flies. The British part uses the flag of the United Kingdom.

3. 

   1957-1961

   First Cameroonian flag: the three stripes, no stars.

4. 

   1961-1975

   Southern British Cameroon joins the country, which becomes a federation of two states. Each star stands for one.

5. 

   1975

   The federation disappears in 1972 and, three years later, the two stars merge into a single one in the centre.

What it means

The most repeated explanation is this one, though sources do not always agree:

• Green

  the forests of the south of the country and hope.

• Red

  unity and independence.

• Yellow

  the sun and the savannas of the north.

• Star

  the unity of the country. It is called ‘the star of unity’.

Fun facts

1. An elephant that never flew

   In 1914 the German emperor approved coats of arms and flags for each colony, and Cameroon’s carried an elephant’s head. The First World War broke out before they were ever inaugurated, so they were never used.

2. A star of any size

   No law fixes how big the star should be. That is why there are Cameroonian flags with enormous stars and others with stars almost invisible.

3. Two different yellows

   On the 1961 flag, the two stars were a darker gold than the yellow of the third stripe.

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