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Republic of the Niger
Use	National flag
Proportion	6:7 (by convention; see below.)
Adopted	23 November 1959; 65 years ago
Design	A horizontal tricolour of orange, white and green; charged with an orange circle in the centre.

The flag of Niger (French: drapeau du Niger) has been the national flag of the Republic of the Niger since 1959, a year prior to its formal independence from French West Africa. It uses the national colors of orange, white and green, in equal horizontal bands, with an orange circle in the center. The flag forms one of the official national symbols of the Republic of the Niger, along with the coat of arms, the National Anthem ("The Honor of the Fatherland"), and the national motto: "Fraternité, Travail, Progrès".

Legal definition

Prior to the independence of Niger from French West Africa, the flag of Niger was adopted by the Territorial Assembly of the Niger Colony on 23 November 1959, shortly before the proclamation of the Republic within the French Community on 18 December 1959. The flag was designed in 1958. It was retained upon independence in 1960 and has remained unchanged through to the 2010 Constitution.^[1]

Symbolism

A number of sources have described the symbolic intent of the flag, although official sources have yet to confirm. Common interpretations are that the upper orange band represents the northern regions of the Sahara Desert, or the Sahel, the center white band represents purity, or the Niger River, and the lower green band represents both hope and the fertile regions of southern Niger, the orange disc in the center band is thought to stand for the sun or independence.^[2]

Ratio

The flag's traditional portrayal with an unusual 6:7 ratio is of unknown significance and is not used consistently in print applications of the Nigerien government.^[3] The ratio is not explicitly specified in the Constitution of Niger.

Other ratios seen
Ratio 2:3
Ratio 3:5
Ratio 1:2

Historical flags

Years of use	Ratio	Government	Description
1902–1904	2:3	As part of Senegambia and Niger	The French tricolor was used as the official flag of Niger for most of its history as a colony.
1904–1922		As part of Upper Senegal and Niger
1922–1959		Colony of Niger
1959–present	6:7	Colony of Niger	The current flag, consisting of a horizontal triband of orange, white and green; charged with an orange circle in the center, was adopted as the official flag of the Colony of Niger on 23 November 1959. It has remained the national flag of the Republic of the Niger since its independence in 1960.
1959–present	6:7	Republic of the Niger

Other flags

Military flags

Flag of the Niger Armed Forces, obverse side
Flag of the Niger Armed Forces, reverse side
Flag of the Gendarmerie Nationale
Flag of the National Police
Roundel of the Niger Air Force
Historical roundel of the Niger Air Force (1961-1980)

Ethnic group flags

Flag of the Hausa people (53.1% of the total population of Niger^[a])
Flag of the Kanuri people (5.9% of the total population of Niger^[a])
Flag of the Toubou people (0.4% of the total population of Niger^[a])
Flag of Daza-speaking Toubou people

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c See: Demographics of Niger § Ethnic groups

References

^ "2010 Constitution of Niger". constituteproject.org. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
^ see Flags of the World, which cites published (foreign) sources for this. Other examples include Flags of the World 101 Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
Susan Rasmussen Moving beyond Protest in Tuareg Ichumar Musical Performance. Ethnohistory 2006 53(4):633–655 describes Tuareg performers in orange, saying "orange symbolizes the Sahara desert" and relating it to the colors of the Nigerien flag.
^
The FOTW for a discussion of this, and the following government websites for examples of various ratios being used official capacity:
- http://www.presidence.ne/ President of Niger
- http://www.assemblee.ne/ Archived 2007-08-18 at the Wayback Machine National Assembly of Niger
- http://www.communication-gouv-niger.ne/ Archived 2008-03-23 at the Wayback Machine Government communications office of Niger.

Portions of this article were translated from the German language Wikipedia article de:Flagge Nigers, (consulted 2008-07-25).
W. Smith, O. Neubecker: Die Zeichen der Menschen und Völker: Unsere Welt in Fahnen und Flaggen. Reich Verlag Luzern, 1975, ISBN 3-7243-0115-4
Flag of Niger at FOTW, (consulted 2008-07-25).