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The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo, is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo River.
Description[]
The flag of the Republic of the Congo consists of a yellow diagonal band divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner, with a green upper triangle and red lower triangle.
Symbolism[]
The flag uses the traditional colours of Pan-African movement, which ultimately are derived from the flag of Ethiopia.
When the flag was adopted two of the colours were attributed with symbolism—green was for agriculture and forests and yellow for the friendship and nobility of the people—but the red has no symbolism.
History[]
The flag was officially adopted on 15 September 1959 and remained unchanged when the French Congo became an independent state less than a year later on 15 August 1960.
During the socialist period (1970-1991) the country used a red flag similar to the flags of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China, albeit with the addition of green leaves, as to retain the pan-African colors.
The red flag remained in place until 1991, when economic problems and the weakening of the Soviet Union's power due to the Revolutions of 1989 culminated in democratic elections and ultimately, the collapse of the People's Republic of the Congo. The National Conference, which oversaw the transition to a democratic government, reinstated the original flag from 1959 on 10 June 1991.
Historical Flags[]
.svg "Royal Banner of the Kingdom of Kakongo (c. 1883).svg (10 KB)")
.svg "French Congo 1959 proposal (Flag).svg (577 bytes)")
Flag Redesigns[]
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Disputed areas
Dependencies and overseas territories
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