Flag of Benin

Country

Flag of Benin uses vertical green band with two horizontal bands. Ratio 2:3 and current adoption August 1, 1990.

Hoist Ratio 2:3 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of Benin
Entity Type	Country
Official Name	Republic of Benin
Identifier	BJ / BEN
Region	Western Africa

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	August 1, 1990
First Documented Use	1959
Proportion	2:3
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	Green, Yellow, Red
Construction	Vertical green band with two horizontal bands

Documented Colour Values

Colour	HEX	RGB	CMYK
Green	#008751	0, 135, 81	100, 0, 40, 47
Yellow	#FCD116	252, 209, 22	0, 17, 91, 1
Red	#E8112D	232, 17, 45	0, 93, 81, 9

Design and Symbolism

Green	hope and the palm groves of the south.
Yellow	the savannahs of the north.
Red	the courage of the ancestors.
Pan-African colours	Shared with Ghana and Ethiopia as a mark of African unity.

Proportions

Ratio	2:3
Hoist	2 units
Fly	3 units

About the Flag of Benin

Vertical green band with two horizontal bands The recorded proportion is 2:3. Within this library it is grouped with combined horizontal and vertical bands designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for Benin is Green (#008751), Yellow (#FCD116) and Red (#E8112D). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

Pan-African colours: Shared with Ghana and Ethiopia as a mark of African unity.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1959. The adoption field for the present record is August 1, 1990.

Additional flag context

The flag was adopted at independence in 1959, replaced in 1975 by a green flag with a red star under a Marxist government, and restored unchanged in 1990.

It was one of the first flags to combine the Pan-African colours in this particular arrangement, with green as a vertical band at the hoist.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Vertical green band with two horizontal bands, a 2:3 proportion and the visible pan-African colours. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — Benin — Specialist vexillological reference

Other combined horizontal and vertical bands flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of Benin

Benin is recorded as vertical green band with two horizontal bands.
The reference proportion for the flag of Benin is 2:3.
The stored palette for Benin contains Green, Yellow and Red.
The adoption field for this country flag record is August 1, 1990.
The design record traces first use to 1959.
Its construction is grouped with the combined horizontal and vertical bands design family in this library.
Pan-African colours: Shared with Ghana and Ethiopia as a mark of African unity.
The flag was adopted at independence in 1959, replaced in 1975 by a green flag with a red star under a Marxist government, and restored unchanged in 1990.
It was one of the first flags to combine the Pan-African colours in this particular arrangement, with green as a vertical band at the hoist.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of Benin

What does the flag of Benin look like?

Vertical green band with two horizontal bands, with a recorded proportion of 2:3.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of Benin?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 2:3.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of Benin?

The reference palette lists Green #008751, Yellow #FCD116 and Red #E8112D.

What do the symbols on the flag of Benin represent?

Pan-African colours — Shared with Ghana and Ethiopia as a mark of African unity.

When was the present flag record for Benin adopted?

The adoption field in this record is August 1, 1990.

Which design family does the flag of Benin belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with combined horizontal and vertical bands designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.

Where can I verify information about the flag of Benin?

The verification-source section on this page links to an official, governmental or specialist reference used to check the underlying record. Source wording is not copied into the article.