Flag of the Comoros
The Comoros flag is four horizontal stripes, yellow, white, red and blue from the top, with a green triangle along the pole holding a white crescent and four white stars in a line between its tips. Norway’s Store norske leksikon explains the crescent as the symbol of Islam and the four stars as the four islands of the Comoros; Lex says the four stripes are said to stand for the islands too.
How to read it
Article 9 of the Constitution of the Union of the Comoros (2018) makes the flag a symbol of the Union and of national sovereignty, and describes it: four horizontal bands of equal width, yellow, white, red and blue from the top, a green isosceles triangle on the side of the pole, and a white crescent with four white stars aligned from one tip of the crescent to the other. The present flag was adopted at the turn of 2001 and 2002, according to Store norske leksikon and Lex; the green with the crescent and stars goes back to 1963. The constitution gives no proportions or shades.
Also searched as: comorian flag, comorian flag meaning, comoros flag, comoros flag meaning, flag of the comoros.
Four stars for four islands
The four stars are the four islands, Store norske leksikon says. Article 6 of the Comorian constitution counts four islands in the Union’s territory: Mwali (Mohéli), Maoré (Mayotte), Ndzuwani (Anjouan) and Ngazidja (Grande Comore). Mayotte is administered by France, of which it became a department in 2011; the constitution’s preamble makes its return a national priority. Lex notes that the stripes, like the stars, are said to stand for the four islands, though Mayotte belongs to France.
The count matters in the Comoros. In July 2026, after the national day of 6 July, internet users noticed that posters published by three ministries showed the flag with three stars instead of four, Mayotte Hebdo reported; the paper says the mistake was seen as a serious incident, and the three ministers apologised on their Facebook pages.
The crescent
The white crescent is the symbol of Islam, Store norske leksikon says, and Lex calls the crescent and stars the old symbols of Islam. The motif has a long history of its own, as the star and crescent. On the Comoros flag it has been used since 1978, and from 1963 to 1975 before independence, in changing forms: Store norske leksikon notes a version with the crescent lying on its back after a referendum in 1992, and one with Arabic inscriptions from 1996.
Where this symbol came from
oldsymbols.comStar and crescentThe crescent on the green triangle is the symbol of Islam.Read next
- Next in African flagsFlag of DjiboutiDjibouti’s flag has two horizontal stripes, light blue above green, with a white triangle at the pole holding a red five-pointed star. The Larousse encyclopedia explains the blue as the tribal colour of the Issa, the green as the Afar and their Islamic faith, the white as peace and the red star as unity and independence.
- 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.
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The same shape elsewhere
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Sources
- Constitution of the Comoros, 2018 (Constitute Project), Constitution of the Union of the Comoros, 2018, arts. 6 and 9 (English translation), Constitute Project, arts. 6 and 9
- Komorenes flagg og våpen (Store norske leksikon), “Komorenes flagg og våpen”, Store norske leksikon, Store norske leksikon, article text
- Comorernes nationalflag (Lex), Christian Fogd Pedersen, “Comorernes nationalflag”, Lex – Danmarks Nationalleksikon, Lex – Danmarks Nationalleksikon, article text
- Comores : tollé après la publication par des ministres de drapeau sans les quatre étoiles (Mayotte Hebdo), Abdou Moustoifia, “Comores : tollé après la publication par des ministres de drapeau sans les quatre étoiles”, Mayotte Hebdo, 13 July 2026, Mayotte Hebdo, article text
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 13, 2026. How we research
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