Flags of West Africa
Recognise the 16 national flags of West Africa by their colours and design, one family at a time.
16 cards · Geography
Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the chapter a few at a time.
Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 27 Oct 2026
Sources: Gallery of sovereign state flags (Wikipedia), flag-icons by Lipis, MIT licence (the pictures)
Preview
Green bar at the pole, then yellow over red
Show answerHide answer: Green bar at the pole, then yellow over red
Benin
Learn more: First adopted in 1959, dropped under military rule in 1975, and brought back in 1990.
Red over green, with a yellow star in the middle
Show answerHide answer: Red over green, with a yellow star in the middle
Burkina Faso
Learn more: Adopted in 1984, when Upper Volta took the name Burkina Faso, "land of upright people".
Blue, with stripes and a ring of ten stars
Show answerHide answer: Blue, with stripes and a ring of ten stars
Cabo Verde
Learn more: The ten yellow stars stand for its ten main islands, in the Atlantic off West Africa.
Orange, white and green vertical bands
Show answerHide answer: Orange, white and green vertical bands
Côte d'Ivoire
Learn more: The reverse of Ireland's green, white and orange. Its biggest city is Abidjan, not the capital.
Red, blue and green bands, with thin white lines
Show answerHide answer: Red, blue and green bands, with thin white lines
Gambia
Learn more: The blue band is the Gambia River, which runs through the whole length of the country.
About this topic
This chapter of Flags of the World covers the national flags of West Africa. Each card shows a flag and asks which country flies it, with a hint and a short story of where its colours and shapes come from.
Most West African countries won independence around 1960 and chose the green, yellow and red of Ethiopia, the old symbol of African freedom. Ghana added the black star; Liberia, founded by freed American slaves, has stars and stripes.
Learn the family first, then the one detail that sets each flag apart: the order of the colours, a shade of blue, a cross, a star or an emblem. Once you know most of this chapter's flags, the next chapter of the Book starts arriving in your Daily Zap.
All 16 cards
Green bar at the pole, then yellow over red
Benin
Learn more: First adopted in 1959, dropped under military rule in 1975, and brought back in 1990.
Red over green, with a yellow star in the middle
Burkina Faso
Learn more: Adopted in 1984, when Upper Volta took the name Burkina Faso, "land of upright people".
Blue, with stripes and a ring of ten stars
Cabo Verde
Learn more: The ten yellow stars stand for its ten main islands, in the Atlantic off West Africa.
Orange, white and green vertical bands
Côte d'Ivoire
Learn more: The reverse of Ireland's green, white and orange. Its biggest city is Abidjan, not the capital.
Red, blue and green bands, with thin white lines
Gambia
Learn more: The blue band is the Gambia River, which runs through the whole length of the country.
Red, gold and green bands, with a black star
Ghana
Learn more: In 1957 it was the first colony south of the Sahara to win independence; its black star became a sign of African freedom.
Red, yellow and green vertical bands, plain
Guinea
Learn more: Mali's flag uses the same colours in the reverse order: green, yellow and red.
Red bar with a black star, beside yellow over green
Guinea-Bissau
Learn more: Its colours and black star follow Ghana's, a sign of the pan-African movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Red and white stripes, a white star on a blue square
Liberia
Learn more: Founded by freed American slaves. Its 11 stripes stand for the men who signed its 1847 declaration of independence.
Green, yellow and red vertical bands, plain
Mali
Learn more: Adopted in 1961, after a human figure was taken off its yellow band.
Green, a gold crescent and star, red edges
Mauritania
Learn more: The red stripes at the top and bottom were added in 2017 to honour those who died for independence.
Orange, white and green bands, with an orange disc
Niger
Learn more: The orange disc is often said to be the sun. India's flag is close, with a blue wheel instead.
Green, white and green vertical bands
Nigeria
Learn more: Designed by a student, Taiwo Akinkunmi, in 1959. Green stands for the land, white for peace.
Green, yellow and red bands, with a green star
Senegal
Learn more: Mali's colours, with a green star in the middle: in 1959 and 1960 the two were one federation.
Green, white and blue horizontal bands
Sierra Leone
Learn more: Green is said to stand for its farms and hills, and blue for the sea at Freetown's natural harbour.
Green and yellow stripes, a white star on a red square
Togo
Learn more: Its five stripes are said to stand for the country's five regions.
Image credits
- Green bar at the pole, then yellow over red: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Green bar at the pole, then yellow over red
- Red over green, with a yellow star in the middle: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Red over green, with a yellow star in the middle
- Blue, with stripes and a ring of ten stars: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Blue, with stripes and a ring of ten stars
- Orange, white and green vertical bands: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Orange, white and green vertical bands
- Red, blue and green bands, with thin white lines: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Red, blue and green bands, with thin white lines
- Red, gold and green bands, with a black star: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Red, gold and green bands, with a black star
- Red, yellow and green vertical bands, plain: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Red, yellow and green vertical bands, plain
- Red bar with a black star, beside yellow over green: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Red bar with a black star, beside yellow over green
- Red and white stripes, a white star on a blue square: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Red and white stripes, a white star on a blue square
- Green, yellow and red vertical bands, plain: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Green, yellow and red vertical bands, plain
- Green, a gold crescent and star, red edges: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Green, a gold crescent and star, red edges
- Orange, white and green bands, with an orange disc: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Orange, white and green bands, with an orange disc
- Green, white and green vertical bands: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Green, white and green vertical bands
- Green, yellow and red bands, with a green star: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Green, yellow and red bands, with a green star
- Green, white and blue horizontal bands: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Green, white and blue horizontal bands
- Green and yellow stripes, a white star on a red square: flag-icons by Lipis, MIT, MIT Source: Green and yellow stripes, a white star on a red square
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