The flag of Comoros was designed in 2001 and adopted on January 7, 2002. The flag consists of a green triangle on the left side of the flag. Inside the green triangle is a white crescent and four white stars. The remainder of the flag consists of four stripes, one each in yellow, white, red, and blue.
Comoros is officially referred to as the Union of Comoros and consists of four main islands: Grande Comore, Mohéli, Anjouan, and Mayotte. The archipelago is located off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. Each of the stripes on the flag represents the main color of the flag for one of these islands. The blue stands for the flag of Grande Comore, the red for the flag of Anjoun, and yellow for the flag of Mohéli. The white stands for Mayotte, which is actually administered by France.
The green area, white crescent, and white stars have been used in every former flag of Comoros. With the exception of the Comoros state flag used from 1976 until 1978 during the Ali Soilih Regime, all flags of Comoros have consisted of a simple green rectangle with the white crescent and stars. The only variations in the flag have been in the orientation of the crescent and stars. This motif represents Islam, the archipelago nation’s most prominent religion. The crescent and stars also served as an important motif from 1975 through 2002, during which Comoros sought independence from France.
Today, the islands of Comoros are still troubled, experiencing more than twenty coups or attempted coups in the last eight years in addition to presidential assassinations and other forms of political unrest. Mayotte is still administered by France, and Anjouan and Mohéli occasionally express desire to secede from Comoros and re-attach to France. The nation also experiences extreme poverty: approximately half of its citizens earn less than $1.25 per day.
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