Flag of Mali

Meaning and history of the flag of Mali

Mali's flag is made up of three vertical stripes of equal width: green at the hoist, yellow in the middle, and red on the outer edge. It was adopted on March 1, 1961, shortly after independence from France. The flag originally featured a black stylized human figure, the kanaga, on the central stripe, which was removed for Islamic religious reasons.

Green symbolizes the fertility of the land and hope, yellow represents the country's mineral wealth, particularly the gold that has historically been abundant in the region, and red honors the blood shed by Malians in their struggle for freedom. These are the pan-African colors, inspired by the flag of Ethiopia.

Mali's flag is identical in structure to the flags of Guinea and Senegal, all built as vertical tricolors, though with the colors in a different order. It also bears some resemblance to the flags of Romania and Ireland. The green-yellow-red layout is shared by several West African countries, reflecting the region's historical and cultural ties.

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