Flag of Comoros

Flag of Comoros

Although each of the major islands in the Comoros represents itself with its own flag, there have also been several Comoros flags that represent the united islands as a whole. Those flags have always emphasized the fact that the Comoros is a union is islands and represented each of the major islands in some way.

The current flag of Comoros was designed in 2001 and adopted on January 7, 2002. The design consists of a white crescent with four white stars inside of a green triangle. The flag has four stripes, representing four islands of the nation: yellow is for Mohéli, white is for Mayotte (claimed by Comoros but administered by France), red is for Anjouan, and blue is for Grande Comore. The four stars next to the crescent also stand for the islands, while the crescent itself stands for Islam, which is the nation's major religion.

• Capital of Comoros: Moroni
• Area of Comoros: 2,170 sq. km
• Languages used in Comoros: Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro
• Religions in Comoros: Sunni Muslim, Roman Catholic

Colors and Symbolism of Comoros Flags

Modern Comoros flags have four horizontal stripes of yellow, white, red, and blue that stretch out from a green chevron along the hoist. The chevron holds a white crescent and four white stars. The four stars represent the four islands of the Comoros, while the crescent and the green chevron that holds it represent Islam, which is the most common religion on the islands. Each of the stripes on the flag also represents one of the islands. The yellow stripe represents Moheli, the white stripe represents Mayotte, the red stripe represent Anjouan, and the blue stripe represents the island of Grand Comore. The design was intended to be a union of the symbols which represent each of the islands, just as the nation itself is a union of those islands.

History of Comoros Flags

The first flag of Comoros was adopted before the nation gained its independence in the modern era. It was a solid green field that was diagonally bisected by four white stars with a white crescent in the canton. It first came into use in 1963, while the nation only gained its independence from France in 1975.

Comoros gained a new flag in 1976 when Ali Soilih became the head of state. His government used a bicolor flag of red and green, and his new flag moved the crescent and stars into the canton. The red portion of the new flag's field represented the government's socialist leanings.

That flag fell out of use in 1978, and its replacement was a variation on the nation's original flag. It had a solid green field and placed the crescent and stars in the center of the flag. A new variation on the flag that rotated the emblem to face upwards came into use in 1992, and a further variant that rotated the emblem to face away from the hoist and added text in two of the flag's corners was adopted in 1996. Comoros adopted the modern flag in 2002 following a series of changes to the nation's Constitution.