Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Adopted	20 February 2006
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo, is a country in Central Africa.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been known in the past as, in chronological order, the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, the Republic of the Congo-Léopoldville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Zaire, before returning to its current name the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Description

The flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a sky blue field with a yellow five-pointed star in the canton and cut yellow-fimbriated red diagonal band from the lower hoist-side to the upper fly-side.

Symbolism

• Blue stands for peace.
• Red stands for bloodshed of those who fight for the country.
• Yellow stands for the country's wealth and the star is a radiant future for the country.

History

The national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was first adopted in 2006 but, throughout its history, the flag has changed significantly. There have been multiple flags through the nation’s history that are similar to the one used today, with only slight variances in colors, the size of the star, and the width of the red stripe. The current flag was adopted based on the styles that were used throughout the 1960s.

Historical Flags

Flag of Association Internationale Africaine (1877-1885), the Congo Free State (1885-1908), and the Belgian Congo (1908–1960)

Flag of Congo-Léopoldville from independence 30 June 1960 until 1963. Also used by the rival Congo-Stanleyville from 1960 to 1962.

Flag from 1963 until 1966

Flag from 1966 until 1971

Flag of Zaire 1971–1997

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–2003)

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003–2006)

Proposed Flags

Federalist proposal for the flag of Congo-Léopoldville (May 1960)

Secessionist States

Flag of State of Katanga (1960–1963)

Flag of South Kasai (1960–1962)

Flag Redesigns

Flag of New Zaire Government in Exile, 2017.

Zaire flag redesign by Orientalto, Oct 2019. (Reddit)

Democratic Republic of Zaire Flag, Russikeh, Jun 2023.