Flag of the Central African Republic
Four horizontal stripes, blue, white, green and yellow, crossed down the middle by a red band, with a yellow five-pointed star in the top corner by the pole, as the Central African constitution describes it. The constitution gives no meanings; Larousse says three of the five colours stand for natural resources (cotton, forests and diamonds), the red for the union of the peoples and the white for peace.
How to read it
Article 1 of the constitution of the Seventh Republic, promulgated on 30 August 2023, describes the national emblem as a flag of five colours: four horizontal bands of equal width, blue, white, green and yellow, crossed perpendicularly through their middle by a red band of the same width, with a yellow five-pointed star in the upper left corner. The same article gives the motto, “Unité - Dignité - Travail” (Unity, Dignity, Work). The 2016 constitution described the flag in the same terms. Neither sets proportions or shades. Larousse dates the flag to 1958.
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How the flag is put together
The constitution’s wording fixes the layout. The four horizontal bands are of equal width, in the order blue, white, green, yellow. The red band runs from top to bottom through the middle of the flag, crossing all four, and is the same width as each of them. The yellow star is in the upper corner on the side of the pole, on the blue band.
What the colours stand for
The constitution gives no meanings. Larousse says three of the five colours stand for the country’s natural resources, which it lists as cotton, forests and diamonds; the red for the union of the peoples; and the white for peace.
Read next
- Next in African flagsFlag of ChadThree equal vertical bands, blue, gold and red, the blue next to the pole, as Chad’s constitution describes it. The constitution gives the colours no meaning; Larousse explains the blue as the sky and the south of the country, the yellow as the sun and the north, and the red as progress and unity.
- The same shape in Asian flagsFlag of AzerbaijanAzerbaijan’s flag has three horizontal stripes of equal width, blue, red and green from the top, with a white crescent and a white eight-pointed star in the middle of the red. The President’s office gives the meanings: blue for the Turkic origin of the Azerbaijani people, red for the wish to build a modern society and develop democracy, and green for belonging to Islamic civilisation.
More african flags
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines, squares and rectangles or stars.
Sources
- Constitution de la République centrafricaine (2023), Constitution of the Seventh Republic, promulgated 30 August 2023 (Journal officiel, JORCA/ES no. 9, 4 September 2023), Article 1, FAOLEX, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (copy of the official text), Title; Article premier
- Central African Republic 2016 Constitution, Constitution of the Central African Republic of 2016, Article 1 (English translation), Constitute Project, Article 1
- Drapeau de la République centrafricaine (Larousse), Encyclopédie Larousse en ligne, image entry with caption, Larousse, Caption
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 13, 2026. How we research
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