Guinea
Shape
Africa · Western Africa
Outline not to scale
About the flag
Guinea's flag is three vertical bands of red, yellow and green, with red at the flagpole. It was adopted in 1958, when Guinea became the first French colony in Africa to vote for immediate independence. The pan-African colours are often explained as red for the sacrifice of the independence struggle, yellow for the sun and the country's mineral wealth, and green for its vegetation.
Often confused with
Mali uses the same colours in reverse, with green at the flagpole. Red at the flagpole means Guinea.
Senegal's bands run green, yellow and red, with a green star in the middle.
Only the names are similar: Guinea-Bissau is Guinea's smaller neighbour, and its flag has a black star on a red band.
Only the names are similar: Equatorial Guinea is in Central Africa, and its flag has a blue triangle and a tree emblem.
Only the names are similar: Papua New Guinea is in Oceania, north of Australia.