The Secret History Behind Cameroon's Flag
Cameroon's flag took its star in the middle only in 1975.
The first version was adopted on October 26, 1957 as a plain tricolor of green, red and yellow vertical stripes. In 1961 two gold stars were added to the green stripe, and on May 20, 1975 they were replaced by a single, larger gold star in the center of the red stripe.
The colors are the Pan-African ones. Green is read as the forests of the south, yellow as the sun and the savannas of the north, and red as unity. The star is commonly called the star of unity.
The date printed on every Cameroon design in our catalog, January 1, 1960, is Independence Day.
Three stripes, a star and a flag that changed twice.
Looking for a gift with a story? See our heritage gift guide, or read the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Stories page.