Flag of Niger

Meaning and history of the flag of Niger

Niger's flag has three horizontal stripes of equal width: orange at the top, white in the middle, and green at the bottom. At the center of the white stripe is an orange disc representing the sun. It was adopted on November 23, 1959, ahead of the country's formal independence from France in 1960.

Orange represents the arid regions of the north, including the Sahara Desert that covers much of the country, as well as its Sahelian peoples. White symbolizes purity and innocence, while also evoking the Niger River, from which the country takes its name. Green represents the fertile southern regions where most agriculture is concentrated. The central orange disc is the sun, an essential source of life in this Sahelian nation.

Niger's flag bears a notable resemblance to India's, as both share a design of three horizontal stripes with a circular symbol at the center. The colors differ, however: where India uses saffron, Niger uses orange, and India's central symbol is the blue Ashoka Chakra rather than Niger's orange solar disc. At a distance, it can also be confused with the flag of Côte d'Ivoire, which uses orange, white, and green arranged vertically.

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