Africa

Flag of Eritrea

Eritrea is a small nation on the Horn of Africa with a long Red Sea coastline, bordering Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. It gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following a 30-year independence war. The country has nine officially recognised ethnic groups and maintains a mandatory national service programme. Its port city of Massawa and capital Asmara feature distinctive Italian colonial architecture, and Asmara's modernist buildings are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

CapitalAsmara
RegionAfrica
Current flag since1995
Main coloursGreen, Blue, Red, Yellow
Populationabout 3.6 million
Areaabout 118,000 km²
Flags in history3

Population and area are rounded.

What the flag of Eritrea means

Green stands for agriculture and livestock, blue for the Red Sea, and red for the blood shed in the thirty-year war of independence. The gold olive wreath and branch come from the 1952 flag of Eritrea, when it was federated with Ethiopia; the branch has thirty leaves, one for each year of the war. The current flag was adopted in 1995.

More about the flag

Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993 after a referendum, two years after the war ended. The olive wreath comes from the flag Eritrea used when it was federated with Ethiopia under a United Nations plan in the 1950s, when it showed green olive branches on light blue. The current flag, with its 1:2 proportions, has been official since December 1995. The capital is Asmara.

How to recognise it

Red triangle on the left (hoist) with a yellow olive wreath; horizontal green-blue stripes behind.

Did you know?

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year war — one of Africa's longest.

Easily confused with

Eritrea's flag is often mixed up with these. Learn to tell them apart:

Ethiopia

Djibouti

Flag history of Eritrea

Every flag that has flown over Eritrea, from today back through time.

1995–present

Flag of Eritrea

Adopted in 1995, the olive wreath was standardized to 30 leaves, symbolizing the 30 years of armed struggle that preceded independence.

1993–1995

Early independence flag

First hoisted at independence in 1993, combining the EPLF's red-green-blue triangular design with a gold olive wreath drawn from the 1952 flag.

1952–1961

Federation flag

Adopted in 1952 when Eritrea became an autonomous federated unit of Ethiopia — a light-blue field echoing the UN, with a green olive wreath. It was abolished when Ethiopia annexed Eritrea in 1962.

Neighbouring countries

Eritrea shares a land border with 3 countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Djibouti

Ethiopia

Sudan

Other flags in green, blue, red and yellow

2 other national flags use the same main colours as Eritrea's.

Ethiopia

Mauritius

Play Globalio and learn Eritrea's flag