The Secret History Behind Niger's Flag
Niger's flag was adopted a year before the country became independent.
The design was prepared in 1958 and adopted on November 23, 1959 by the Territorial Assembly of the then colony of Niger. It kept the same design when it became the national flag on independence. Before that, the territory flew the French tricolor.
It is a horizontal tricolor of orange, white and green with an orange circle at the center of the white band. No official explanation of the colors exists. The most common reading is orange for the Sahara and the north, white for purity and the Niger River, green for the fertile south and hope, and the circle for the sun or for independence.
At first glance it looks like the flag of India, which also has orange, white and green bands but a blue wheel in the middle.
The date printed on every Niger design in our catalog, August 3, 1960, is Independence Day.
Three bands and a sun.
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