Togo Flag

The current flag of Togo was adopted on April 28, 1960, the day after this country gained its independence from France. It features 5 horizontal and alternating stripes of equal width, 3 of which are green and 2 are yellow. In the upper left corner is a red square that extends the width of the top 3 stripes. At its center is a white, 5-pointed star. Its width to length proportion is 1 to 1.618.

The colors of the flag of Togo are the same as those utilized by the pan-African movement, a political ideology designed to unite all African countries. The design of this flag is said to be similar to that of Libya. The 5 stripes that make up the background are representative of the 5 political regions of Togo.The golden yellow color symbolizes the subsistence agricultural work performed by the residents of Togo, while the green is represents the agricultural produce. The red stands for love, although some sources claim it represents the blood shed during the fight for independence. Finally, the white star symbolizes hope and purity.

The flag of Togo was designed by Paul Ahyi, a Togo native who studied art in Paris. After graduating, he returned to Togo, where he worked on several contemporary art projects. Ahyi designed the flag while Togo was fighting for its independence from France. His design was not adopted, however, until the country became officially independent. While fighting for independence, Togo utilized the same flag it had used as an autonomous region of France, but without the French flag in the left corner.

Throughout history, Togo has used a number of flag designs to represent its territory, though most of these designs have been influenced by colonial powers. In 1956, Togo became an autonomous region of France. Between 1957 and 1958, this country used a green flag with 2 white 5-pointed stars, one in the bottom left corner and one in the top right corner. It had a small French flag in the top left corner. From 1958 to 1960, Togo used the same flag, but removed the French symbol.