Flag of Ethiopia

Facts about the Flag of Ethiopia

1. The green, yellow and red of Ethiopia are the origin of the Pan-African colours. Ethiopia was the only African state to resist colonisation, and newly independent countries adopted its palette as a statement.
2. The blue disc with a gold star and rays was added in 1996; earlier versions of the flag carried a lion, a plain tricolour, or a socialist emblem.
3. The star's points are usually explained as the unity and equality of Ethiopia's peoples.
4. The flag of Ethiopia was officially adopted on October 31, 2009.
5. The design is older than its adoption. It was already in use in 1897, 112 years before it was formally made the flag of Ethiopia.
6. The flag in its present form is 17 years old as of 2026.
7. Design type: Horizontal tricolour with a blue disc bearing a golden star.
8. The official proportions are 1:2. It shares that ratio with 54 national flags.
9. The flag uses 5 colours: green, yellow, red, blue and gold.
10. The green on the flag stands for the land and hope.
11. The yellow on the flag stands for peace and harmony among the nations.
12. The red on the flag stands for strength and the sacrifice of the patriots.
13. Golden star: The unity and equality of all Ethiopian nationalities.
14. Blue disc: Peace and democracy.
15. Rays: The bright future of the peoples of Ethiopia.
16. The design belongs to the "Horizontal tricolour with a central emblem" family, shared with 19 other flags in this reference.
17. Flags most often confused with it: Argentina, Cambodia and Colorado.
18. Ethiopia was never colonised. It kept its independence throughout the European scramble for Africa, apart from the Italian occupation of 1936 to 1941, and is the only African state that can say so.