Flag of Mauritania

Meaning and history of the flag of Mauritania

Mauritania's flag has a green field with a golden crescent moon and star at the center. In 2017, two horizontal red stripes were added, one along the top edge and one along the bottom, altering a design that had remained unchanged since independence in 1960. The crescent's points face upward, with the five-pointed star positioned between them.

The green field and golden symbols are direct references to Islam, the country's predominant religion. The crescent and star represent the Islamic faith that underpins Mauritanian society. The red stripes, added through a constitutional referendum, symbolize the blood shed by the nation's defenders and honor those who fought for independence from France.

The addition of the red stripes in 2017 made Mauritania one of the few countries to have significantly changed its flag in the 21st century. The earlier design, solid green with the golden symbols, was often mistaken from a distance for other Islamic flags. The current combination of green, gold, and red gives Mauritania a more distinctive visual identity among the flags of West Africa and the Arab world.

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