Sao Tome and Principe

3×5' nylon national flag of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Two black stars, two islands. São Tomé and Príncipe, Africa's second-smallest nation, counts itself on its flag in the simplest way possible.

Design

Three horizontal bands of green, yellow and green, the yellow band one and a half times the height of each green band, with a red triangle at the hoist. Two black five-pointed stars sit in the yellow band.

History & Symbolism

The flag was adopted on 5 November 1975, months after independence from Portugal, and is based on the flag of the liberation movement MLSTP. Green stands for the islands' lush vegetation, yellow for the sun and the cocoa that made the islands famous, and red for the struggle for independence. The stars stand for São Tomé and Príncipe.

Flag Specifications

• Adopted: 5 November 1975
• Official proportions: 1:2
• Colors: green, yellow, red, black
• Emblem: two black stars

Vexillographer's Note

São Tomé was once the world's largest producer of cocoa. Yellow on the flag is the color of its sun-dried beans as much as of the sun.

Humphrys Flag Company · Old City Philadelphia · Est. 1864