Thenational flag ofTogo consists of five horizontal stripes, alternating between green and yellow, with a red square bearing a five-pointed white star in thecanton. It is one of manyAfrican flags that use thepan-African colours of green, yellow, and red. Togolese artistPaul Ahyi designed the flag in 1960, just before its adoption on 27 April of that year, coinciding with Togo's proclamation of independence. When Togo was anautonomous republic within theFrench Union (the successor to theFrench colonial empire), it flew a green flag with theFrench tricolour in the canton and two five-pointed yellow stars, one in the lower hoist and one in the upper fly.
Togolese artistPaul Ahyi (1930–2010) was the designer of the flag.[1] Ahyi studied art in France and graduated from theÉcole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts inParis in 1959 before returning to Togo. The following year, he designed the flag of Togo, which was adopted upon the country's proclamation of independence on 27 April 1960.[2][3][4]
The design of the flag is outlined in Title I, Article 3 of theConstitution of Togo, 1992 (2019 revision). It states:[5]
The national emblem is the flag composed of five alternating horizontal bands of green and yellow. It bears in the upper left corner a white five-pointed star on a red square background.
L'emblème national est le drapeau composé de cinq bandes horizontales alternées de couleur verte et jaune. Il porte à l'angle supérieur gauche une étoile blanche à cinq branches sur fond carré rouge.
The proportions of the flag are not mentioned in the constitution and sources differ as to the exact ratio. American vexillologistWhitney Smith, writing in theEncyclopædia Britannica, stated that the width-to-length ratio is approximately 3:5.[6] Polish vexillologistAlfred Znamierowski meanwhile stated that the ratio is 2:3.[7] It has also been claimed that Ahyi followed thegolden ratio (represented by the Greek letterphi, 𝜑) when designing the flag, which would make it agolden rectangle. In other words, its width-to-length ratio would be 1:𝜑, where𝜑 =1+√5/2 ≈ 1.618.[8][9]
The flag uses the pan-African colours of green, yellow, and red, which were adopted by several other African countries upon independence.[6] Its five stripes represent the fiveregions of Togo.[6] The office of theTogolese president gives the following significance to the flag's colours and symbols: green represents forests, agriculture, and hope; yellow represents natural resources, faith, and maturity; red represents the blood shed by those who fought for Togolese independence; and the white star represents peace, intelligence, and light.[4]
Duringthe colonial era, Togo flew the flag of its colonial ruler:Germany from 1884 to 1914 (as part ofGerman Togoland) and France from 1916 to 1960.[10][11] TheUnited Nations trusteeship system established afterWorld War II obliged France to move Togo (thenFrench Togoland) towards self-government.[6] Togo was made an autonomous republic within the French Union on 24 August 1956, and a new flag was adopted along with a motto, an anthem, and a national day.[12] The flag was a green field with the French tricolour in the canton and two five-pointed yellow stars, one in the lower hoist and one in the upper fly. The green field represented agriculture, hope, and youth, while the two stars represented Togo'snorthern savannas and southern coastal plains.[6][13]
The flag of Togo is featured onthe country's coat of arms. Its inclusion is described in the Togolese constitution:[5]
The coat of arms of the Togolese Republic is thus constituted... [a] silver shield of oval shape and with asinople border, in thechief the national emblem, two flags back-to-back and the motto on a banner; in the heart ofsable, the initials of the Togolese Republic on a background of indented gold; at thebase, two lions guled back-to-back.
Les armoiries de la République togolaise sont ainsi constituées... écu d'argent de forme ovale et à la bordure de sinople, en chef l'emblème national, deux drapeaux adossés et devise sur banderole ; en coeur de sable les initiales de la République togolaise sur fond d'or échancré ; en pointe, deux lions de gueules adossés.
"Constitution du Togo, 1992" [Constitution of Togo, 1992].Digithèque MJP (in French). Lomé: Government of Togo. 2019 [14 October 1992].Archived from the original on 7 June 2021.
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