Cyprus Flag

How to identify it

A white field with a copper-orange silhouette of Cyprus above two crossed green olive branches.

Design and construction

Proportions

2:3, changed from 3:5 in a 2006 redesign of the map and olive branches

Adoption and legal status

Designed by Turkish Cypriot artist İsmet Güney and adopted 16 August 1960, when Cyprus became independent under the Zürich and London Agreements; the map outline and olive branches were redrawn on 24 April 2006.

Construction

A white field bearing a copper-orange silhouette of the island above two crossed olive branches.

Officially documented meaning

Article 4 of the 1960 constitution required a "neutral design and colour," excluding the blue of Greece and the red of Turkey and any cross or crescent; the copper colour is said to derive from the ancient association between Cyprus and copper, and the olive branches symbolise peace between the island's Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Sources