Flag of Cyprus

Meaning and history of the flag of Cyprus

The flag of Cyprus was adopted on August 16, 1960, when the island gained independence from the United Kingdom. It shows a white field with a copper-orange silhouette of the island at its center, beneath which sit two crossed green olive branches. It is one of only a handful of national flags to feature a map of the country's own territory, alongside that of Kosovo.

The copper color of the silhouette refers directly to the island's name, since Cyprus derives from the ancient Greek kypros, itself linked to copper, a mineral that has been mined on the island since antiquity. The olive branches symbolize peace and reconciliation between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, and the white background reinforces this peaceful intent. Notably, the design deliberately avoided blue and red, colors associated with Greece and Turkey respectively, in an effort to represent the unity of the island. In practice, however, the Turkish Cypriot community in the north has flown its own flag since 1983.

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