Flag of Mali
Officially Republic of Mali
What the flag looks like
Three vertical stripes of green (hoist), yellow and red.
What it means
Green stands for hope and fertility, yellow for purity and mineral wealth, and red for the blood shed for independence.
How to remember it
Mali
is plain green-yellow-red verticals: Guinea
in reverse, and Senegal
without its green star.
Fun facts
- The 1959-1961 flag had a black human figure, the kanaga, in the center; it was removed partly because of Islamic objections to images of people.
- The Great Mosque of Djenné is the largest mud-brick building in the world.
Mali at a glance
- Capital
- Bamako
- Region
- Western Africa
- Population
- 24 million
- Area
- 1,240,192 km²
- Languages
- French
- Currency
- West African CFA franc (FCFA)
- Flag adopted
- 1961
Flags often confused with Mali
- Guinea: Guinea and Mali are both red, yellow and green vertical stripes in mirror order. Guinea starts with red at the hoist; Mali starts with green.
- Senegal: Mali and Senegal are both green, yellow and red vertical stripes. Senegal has a green star in the center; Mali's flag is plain.
- Cameroon: Cameroon and Mali both have vertical stripes starting with green. Cameroon's middle stripe is red with a yellow star; Mali's middle stripe is yellow with no star.