Flag of Burkina Faso

What the flag means

Article 34 of the constitution describes the flag without explaining it. A statement issued in August 1984 by the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution gave red as the revolutionary struggle and green as farming, abundance and hope. The yellow star is the guiding light of the revolution.

History

Thomas Sankara came to power in a coup in 1983. On 4 August 1984, the first anniversary of his revolution, Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso and the new flag replaced the black, white and red tricolour used since 1959. Its red, green and yellow are the pan-African colours of Ethiopia's flag.

Earlier flags of Burkina Faso

1. 1959–1984Upper Volta: black, white and red bands for the Black, White and Red Volta rivers

Flags of Burkina Faso's neighbours

• Benin
• Ivory Coast
• Ghana
• Mali
• Niger
• Togo