Flag of Central African Republic

Four equal horizontal bands of blue, white, green and yellow, crossed in the middle by a vertical red band. A yellow five-pointed star is in the upper hoist corner.

What the flag means

Barthélemy Boganda told the Legislative Assembly that the colours stood for the four territories of French Equatorial Africa and for France, with the red for blood. Whitney Smith reads the flag as joining the colours of France to the pan-African colours, with the red for the respect Europeans and Africans owe each other and the star for independence.

History

Boganda, later the first prime minister, designed the flag in 1957 for a planned federation he called the United States of Latin Africa. The Legislative Assembly of Ubangi-Shari adopted it by acclamation on 1 December 1958. President Bokassa considered replacing it in 1976, but the constitution of 4 December 1976 kept it as the flag of his Central African Empire. The flag stayed in use after the empire ended in 1979.

Flags of Central African Republic's neighbours

Sources

Wikipedia: Flag of the Central African Republic
Flags of the World: Central African Republic

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Read how we research flags in our editorial policy, or report a mistake.