Flag of Mali

Flag of Mali

The flag of Mali, which has been adopted in 1961, is composed of a vertical tricolor consisting of green, yellow and red stripes. These colors have a classical pan-African symbolism - green indicates the forests and the land's fertility, yellow represents the sharp local sun and red recalls the blood shed during the struggles for freedom. Mali originally formed a federation with Senegal and they shared one flag, which was compared to its present form enriched by a figure of a black man called "Kanaga" placed in the middle of the yellow stripe. Senegal, however, left the federation and replaced the figure by a star. Neither Mali did stick to this form of the flag and the "Kanaga" was removed from both flags. The reason was that the majority of the population are Muslims and it is unacceptable for them to portray the human figure on the flag.

Country information

Sovereign State Yes
Country codes ML, MLI (ISO 3166-1)
Official name Republic of Mali
Capital city Bamako
Continent Africa
Member of United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
Population 19 973 000 (2019)
Total area 1 240 190 km2
Highest point Hombori Tondo (1 155 m, 3 789 ft)
Lowest point Senegal River (23 m, 75 ft)
GDP per capita $ 900 (World Bank, 2018)
Currency West African CFA franc (Fr, XOF)
Calling code +223
Internet TLD .ml

Flags of neighboring countries

Country location