The national flag of Ivory Coast (or Côte d'Ivoire) is a vertical tricolour of orange, white, and green, with a 2:3 width-to-length ratio. It was adopted on 3 December 1959 with the passing of law no. 59-240 by the Ivorian Legislative Assembly, and is defined in Article 48 of the country's 2016 constitution. It is similar to the flag of Ireland, but with the tricolour reversed and wider proportions.
The symbolism of the flag's colours and layout has been variously interpreted as representing aspects of the country's growth and geography. The president's office uses the meaning assigned by then state minister in a speech he gave after the flag was adopted. Delafosse stated that orange represents Ivorians' land, struggle, and blood; white represents peace and order; and green represents hope and a better future.
Adoption
The results of the 1958 French constitutional referendum led to the French Fourth Republic being replaced with the Fifth Republic and the French Union with the French Community, under which most colonies became "autonomous states", including Ivory Coast on 4 December 1958. The new status allowed the adoption of a distinct flag for the first time, in place of the French flag. The orange, white, and green tricolour was adopted by law no. 59-240, passed by the Ivorian Legislative Assembly on 3 December 1959, just before the first anniversary of the country's autonomy. The French commissioner had suggested a red, white, and blue tricolour with stars, but Ivorians wanted a greater departure from the flag of their former colonial ruler.
thumb|Augustin Loubao's proposal (1960)
Prime Minister Félix Houphouët-Boigny declared full independence from France on 7 August 1960, and the Legislative Assembly sat as a constituent assembly to draft a constitution. It was retained as Article 29 of the 2000 constitution and Article 48 of the 2016 constitution.
Design
thumb|The Ivorian flag flying alongside those of other countries in [[San-Pédro, Ivory Coast|San-Pédro]]
The design of the flag is defined in Article 48 of the Constitution of Ivory Coast (2016) as a "tricolour flag of orange, white, and green in vertical bands and of equal dimensions". The width-to-length ratio of the flag is 2:3.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Colours of the Ivorian flag according to LOCOG
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" style="background:#FF8200; color:white" | Orange
! scope="col" style="background:#FFFFFF" | White
! scope="col" style="background:#009A44; color:white" | Green
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | CMYK
| 0/70/100/0
| 0/0/0/0
| 77/20/95/4
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | Hexadecimal
| #FF8200
| #FFFFFF
| #009A44
|-
! style="text-align: right;" | Pantone
| 151
| N/A
| 347
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:right" | RGB
| 255/130/0
| 255/255/255
| 0/154/68
|}
Symbolism
After the flag was officially adopted on 3 December 1959, Minister of State presented the flag to the Legislative Assembly and gave the following explanation of its significance:
The office of the president of Ivory Coast repeats this anecdote and describes it as having "thus defined the meaning of [the flag]".
| The orange band expresses the brilliance of national blossoming, while also serving as a reminder of the northern savannas. The white band glorifies peace in the purity and union of hearts, and is the pledge of our success; and the green band, expression of our hope for the future, recalls the luxuriant virgin forest of Ivory Coast, the first great source of national prosperity.
Smith describes the added meaning of the savannas and forests as unofficial. and with a width-to-length ratio of 1:2 rather than 2:3. In 2014, a Belfast shop hanging the Ivorian flag as part of a FIFA World Cup display labelled it accordingly to avoid confusion with the Irish flag. Conversely, when Ivorian sprinter Murielle Ahouré-Demps celebrated winning gold at the 2018 World Indoor 60-meter dash, for lack of an Ivorian flag to wave, she borrowed an Irish flag from a spectator and reversed it.
See also
- Coat of arms of Ivory Coast