Chad Flag

How to identify it

Three equal vertical bands of indigo blue, yellow and red. Beside Romania's flag, Chad's blue appears darker; without a reliable colour reference, context may be needed.

Design and construction

Proportions

2:3

Adoption and legal status

6 November 1959, a year before independence

Construction

Three equal bands. Published values give the indigo as roughly #00205B, against Romania's lighter #002B7F; the 2012 Olympic protocol manual listed Chad as PMS 281 blue, 116 yellow, 186 red.

Commonly repeated interpretation

Not official: The colours are usually explained as a combination of the French blue-white-red with the pan-African green-yellow-red, with the indigo additionally read as Lake Chad and the sky, the yellow as the Sahara and the red as blood shed for independence.

History of the design

The first design proposed in June 1959 was a green-yellow-red tricolour; green was changed to blue to avoid a clash with Mali. The resulting flag duplicates Romania's, which Chad raised internationally in the 1990s without a change being made.

Similar flags

Compare the details that separate these designs.

• 
  Romania

  Romania uses a lighter blue in the first band. The band order and proportions are otherwise the same.

• 
  Andorra

  Andorra adds a coat of arms on the yellow band.

Comparison guides

• Romania vs Chad: two blue-yellow-red tricolours

Sources