Flag of Senegal

The Senegalese flag brings together two traditions: the Pan-African color scheme that traces back to the Ethiopian tricolor, and a national symbolism in which the colors are also tied to the country's three largest religious and ethnic communities and to the political values of the young republic. The green star in the center was the personal contribution of the first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, who insisted that the flag should not merely copy a continental standard but carry an identity of its own.

• Green band (hoist side). Officially, green stands for hope and for the faith Senegalese people place in their own future after independence. In the religious reading widely accepted in state tradition, green is associated with Islam and the Prophet Muhammad — symbolically important in a country where Muslims make up about 95% of the population. In vexillological tradition, green on African flags is also commonly read as a sign of fertile land, the savanna and the agriculture on which the region's economy has historically rested.
• Yellow band (center). Yellow is the color of wealth — but not in a narrow material sense. The official interpretation emphasizes the riches of culture, the arts and intellectual labor, which fits the worldview of Senghor the poet, one of the founders of the Négritude movement. In the religious reading, yellow is linked to the country's Christian community. In vexillology, yellow placed between green and red traditionally symbolizes the Sahelian sun and gold — a nod to the historic trading empires of West Africa, especially Mali and Ghana.
• Red band (fly side). Red is officially read as the color of life, determination and of the blood shed in the struggle for independence. It is also symbolically connected to the traditional animist beliefs of part of Senegal's peoples — primarily the Serer and certain Wolof groups. In vexillological reading, red is the universal sign of sacrifice and of the readiness to defend hard-won freedom.
• Green five-pointed star. The star at the center of the yellow stripe is the main feature that distinguishes Senegal's flag from the similar tricolors of its neighbors. The star's five points are traditionally read as the five continents and Senegal's openness to the world — an idea close to Senghor and his concept of a "civilization of the universal." In a religious key, the star is seen as a symbol of the union of different faiths under one sky. In state rhetoric, the green color of the star reinforces the themes of hope and the link with Islamic tradition. The five-pointed shape itself also echoes the symbolism of the Mali Federation, of which Senegal was briefly a member in 1959–1960.

The history of the Senegalese flag is a history of short political eras: from precolonial states, through French rule and a brief federation, to an independent republic. Each stage left its mark on what the modern flag looks like.

Precolonial period. Before the Europeans arrived, large state formations existed on the territory of modern Senegal — the Jolof Empire (14th–16th centuries), the kingdoms of Cayor, Baol, Sine, Saloum and Waalo, and, in the southeast, parts of the Mali and Songhai empires. These states had no "flags" in the European sense, but they used standards, decorated cloths and the totemic emblems of their rulers — the damels. The green-yellow-red palette that would later anchor the flag was not used here directly: it entered African vexillology through Ethiopia and the 20th-century Pan-African movement.

French colonial era (1659–1958). Saint-Louis, founded by the French in 1659, is considered the first permanent European settlement in West Africa, and colonization spread out from it. Various versions of the French flag flew over the territory — from the royal fleur-de-lis standards to the tricolor of the French Revolution. In the 19th century, after the conquests of General Louis Faidherbe and others, Senegal became a key colony of French West Africa (Afrique Occidentale Française, AOF), with its capital at Dakar from 1902. AOF had no separate official flag of its own — the French tricolor was used; only certain auxiliary units such as the Tirailleurs sénégalais carried their own regimental colors.

Autonomy and the Mali Federation (1958–1960). On 25 November 1958, Senegal became an autonomous republic within the French Community. On 4 April 1959, Senegal and French Sudan (today's Mali) formed the Mali Federation, sharing a common flag: a vertical green-yellow-red tricolor with a black stylized human figure — the "kanaga" — at the center of the yellow stripe. This mask symbol was borrowed from Dogon culture and was meant to embody Black Africa. On 20 June 1960, the federation declared independence from France, but only two months later, on 20 August 1960, Senegal pulled out of the union over political differences between Senghor and Modibo Keïta.

The flag of the independent Republic of Senegal (since 1960). On that same 20 August 1960, Senegal adopted its own flag. The design kept the vertical layout and the Pan-African triad of colors from the federation, but the black kanaga mask in the center of the yellow stripe was replaced with a green five-pointed star. This decision is attributed personally to Léopold Sédar Senghor — poet and first president of the country (1960–1980): the star was meant to underline at once African identity, the harmony of Islamic, Christian and animist traditions, and a universalist outlook on the world. The flag has not been altered since — a rare case of stability in West Africa. Its status is fixed in Article 1 of the 2001 Constitution: "The emblem of the Republic is the green, yellow and red flag of three equal vertical bands, with a green five-pointed star in the center."

The flag in state life today. The Senegalese tricolor flies over the Presidential Palace in Dakar, appears on the uniforms of the national army, and accompanies Senegalese athletes at the Olympic Games and the Africa Cup of Nations — in particular, it was under this flag that the national football team won its first CAF trophy, the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations held in Cameroon. The constitutional definition of the flag is strict: any change would require an amendment to the Basic Law, which in Senegal — one of the most stable democracies in the region — happens rarely.