Flag of Ghana

Meaning and history of the flag of Ghana

Ghana's flag was adopted on March 6, 1957, when the country became the first in sub-Saharan Africa to win independence from a European colonial power. It consists of three equal horizontal stripes of red, gold, and green, with a black five-pointed star at the center of the gold stripe. It was designed by Theodosia Okoh.

The red represents the blood shed by those who fought for independence, the gold symbolizes the country's mineral wealth -- Ghana was historically known as the Gold Coast -- and the green represents its forests and natural resources. The black star, known as the Black Star of Africa, is a symbol of African freedom, inspired by Marcus Garvey's Black Star Line shipping company and his pioneering role in Pan-Africanism.

Ghana's flag was the first in Africa to combine red, gold, and green with a black star, establishing a template later followed by numerous countries on the continent. Its influence can be seen in the flags of Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, and Sao Tome and Principe, among others. For a brief period between 1964 and 1966, the gold stripe was replaced with white, but the original design was restored after the 1966 coup.

You can view the flag of Ghana in high resolution above and download it in several sizes for personal, educational or reference use. To explore more, visit the full Ghana profile, its map, or the current local time in Accra.