Flag of Djibouti
Djibouti’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.
How to read it
Article 2 of the Constitution of Djibouti (1992, revised 2010) says only that the emblem of the Republic is the blue, green and white flag bearing a red star of five points. It gives no proportions or shades. The flag was adopted in 1977 by the former Territory of the Afars and the Issas, Encyclopædia Universalis notes. The Brooklyn Museum’s guide to African flags says it is based on the flag of the Liberation Front of the Coast of the Somali (FLCS), active in the 1960s and 1970s.
Also searched as: djiboutian flag, djiboutian flag meaning, djibouti flag, djibouti flag meaning, flag of djibouti.
Two readings of the blue and green
The encyclopedias read the colours differently. Larousse ties them to Djibouti’s two main peoples: the blue of the sky and the sea is the tribal colour of the Issa, and the green stands for the Afar and their Islamic faith. Encyclopædia Universalis reads them as nature and hope: the blue of the sky and the green of hope. Both agree on the rest: the white triangle at the hoist is peace, and the red star is unity and independence. The Brooklyn Museum also says the blue and green represent the Afar and Somali peoples.
Read next
- Next in African flagsFlag of EritreaEritrea’s flag is divided by a red triangle running from the whole pole edge to a point at the fly, with green above and blue below, and a gold olive branch inside a gold wreath on the red. Eritrea’s Ministry of Information explains the green as the country’s fertility, the blue as the sea and the red as the blood lost in the fight for freedom; the wreath’s 30 leaves count the years of the armed struggle.
- The same shape in Asian flagsFlag of JordanJordan’s flag has three equal stripes of black, white and green and a red triangle at the pole holding a white seven-pointed star. Al-Mamlaka, Jordan’s public broadcaster, explains the stripes as the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates, the red triangle as the Hashemite family, and the seven points of the star as the seven verses of the Fatiha, the opening chapter of the Quran.
More african flags
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines, squares and rectangles, stars or triangles.
Sources
- Constitution of the Republic of Djibouti, 1992, Constitution of Djibouti of 1992 (rev. 2010), Article 2 (English translation), Constitute Project, Article 2
- Drapeau de la République de Djibouti, Encyclopédie Larousse, image caption “Drapeau de la République de Djibouti”, Larousse, Caption
- Djibouti : drapeau, Encyclopædia Universalis, media entry “Djibouti : drapeau”, Encyclopædia Universalis, Caption
- Africa Fashion: flags of Africa (exhibition infographic), Portland Art Museum, Africa Fashion exhibition flag infographic; design and narrative courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum, Portland Art Museum, Djibouti
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 13, 2026. How we research
Added .