Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau
Adopted	September 24, 1973
Proportions	1:2

The flag of Guinea-Bissau consists of two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centred in the red band.

Symbolism

The flag uses the popular pan-African colours of Ethiopia.

• The black star on the Guinea-Bissau flag symbolizes freedom and the African people
• The red stripe represents the blood spilt for the country's liberty and for the nation's suffering during colonial rule
• The yellow represents the sun and labor
• The green stands for the lush vegetation, agriculture and hope of Guinea-Bissau.

Also, the flag may be interpreted geographically: The stripe and star corresponded to the western coastal region with its capital city, Bissau (from which the national name was derived). The horizontal stripes in the remaining part of the flag and their yellow and green colours roughly corresponded to the savannas of the north and the forests of the south.

History

Proposed flag for the colony

Up until 1974, Guinea-Bissau (along with Mozambique, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe and Angola) were Portuguese African colonies, so the flags of the colonies were the flag of Portugal. There had been planned flags for each one of the colonies, each containing a different shield in the lower corner, but they were all scrapped.

In 1961, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) adopted a flag somewhat similar to those of the neighbouring independent countries of Guinea and Ghana. To their pan-African red-yellow-green, the liberation movement for Guinea-Bissau added a black star on the hoist stripe.

The party flag also incorporated the initials PAIGC, which were omitted when independence was proclaimed on September 24, 1973. Portugal did not recognize Guinea-Bissau or its flag until after its own revolution in 1974; nevertheless, much of Guinea-Bissau was already under control of the PAIGC and its flag. Cape Verde eventually abandoned the Marxist politics of the PAIGC and changed its national flag, but Guinea-Bissau retains the original design.