Flag of Cape Verde
.svg) |
|
| Use | National flag and ensign |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 (de facto) |
| Adopted | 22 September 1992 |
The national flag of Cape Verde was adopted on September 22, 1992, replacing the flag adopted during Cape Verdean independence, fought for with Guinea-Bissau, another former Portuguese colony on mainland West Africa.
The 10 stars on the flag represent the main islands of the nation (a chain of islands off the coast of West Africa). The blue represents the ocean and the sky. The band of white and red represents the road toward the construction of the nation, and the colours stand for peace (white) and effort (red). The yellow colour, circular formation of the stars, and dark blue field show similarity to the flag of Europe (which has 12 stars instead of 10, and was originally designed for the Council of Europe, but is also used by the European Union). The stripes are in 6:1:1:1:3 ratio, and the circle of stars is centred 3⁄8 along the fly.
The Constitution of the Republic does not specify what the official proportions for the height and the width of the flag are. The dimensions of the parts that make up the flag are given proportionally to the dimensions of the sides, without specifying those dimensions. However, the proportion most widely used is 2:3, which is the same proportion that was used in the flag prior to 1992. Consequently, 2:3 is the de facto (but not de jure) proportion.
The Boletim Oficial gives the official shades of the flag's colours (as well as the colours of the Arms of the Republic):
The Pantone, CMYK and RGB are official as published in the bulletin. The other colour shades (Web and HSV) are interpretations of the Pantone standards.
Before independence from Portugal, Cape Verde did not have an official flag, and the Portuguese national flag was used. In the late 1960s, a flag for the Portuguese overseas province of Cape Verde was proposed, consisting of the flag of Portugal with the shield from the provincial arms added to the lower fly. However, this flag was never adopted.
The original national flag of Cape Verde was introduced on independence in 1975, and was based on the flag of the Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC). It used the common African colours of red, green and yellow, and was identical to the flag of Guinea-Bissau except for the proportions and the charge in the hoist-side stripe. Their similarity evoked the plans to unite both countries, which, however, were abandoned shortly after independence. Guinea-Bissau gained independence on 10 September 1974.
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