The national flag of Mali (drapeau national du Mali) is a tricolour with three equal vertical stripes. From the hoist (the place where the flagpole meets the flag) the colours are green, gold, and red, the pan-African colours. The flag of Mali is almost identical to the flag of Guinea, with the exception that the colours are in reverse order.
The current flag was adopted on 1 March 1961. The original flag was adopted on 4 April 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation. This flag was the same, except the golden stripe had a black kanaga, a shape of a squatter man with arms raised to the sky. The figure was removed due to the opposition, in a country whose population is 90% Muslim (95% Sunni 5% Shia), of Islamic fundamentalists[1] (see Aniconism in Islam, the belief against making pictures of the human figure).[2]
The green stands for fertility of the land, gold stands for purity and mineral wealth, and the red symbolizes the blood shed for independence from the French.[3]
A reconstruction of the banner used by Musa I on the hajj, a possible historical flag of the Mali Empire. It consisted of a yellow rectangle centered on a red field.
The French tricolor was used as the official flag of French Sudan for most of its history.
1958–1959
2:3
A new flag was adopted in 1958, when French Sudan gained autonomy within the French Community. It consisted of the French tricolor with a black Kanaga centered on the white band.
The flag initially adopted on Malian independence consisted of a vertical tricolor of green, gold, and red with a black Kanaga centered on the gold band.
^The colonial region of French Sudan went through a number of administrative reorganizations between 1880 and 1959, changing names several times throughout the process. See: French Sudan § Administration and jurisdiction
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Historical flag of the Massina Empire (1818–1862), located in the present-day regions of Mopti and Ségou
Flag of the Arab Movement of Azawad, a militant organization active in Azawad/northern Mali.
Flag of the Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies, a militant organization active in the Gao and Kidal regions.
Flag of the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad, a militant organization and political movement active in the Gao and Kidal regions.
Roundel of the Mali Air Force
Roundel of the Mali Air Force (variant)
