The Flag of Niger (french: drapeau du Niger) has been the national flag of the

Republic of the Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesFrench West Africa. It uses the national colors of orange, white and green, in equal horizontal bands, with an orange

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of dif ...

in the center. The flag forms one of the official national symbols of the Republic of the Niger, along with the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, the National Anthem ("

la Nigérienne "" (; "The Nigerien") is the national anthem of Niger. The lyrics are by Maurice Albert Thiriet; Robert Jacquet and Nicolas Abel François Frionnet wrote the music. It was adopted as Niger's anthem in 1961. History The anthem was written b ...

"), and the national

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

: "''Fraternité, Travail, Progrès''". Niger, flags

Legal definition

Prior to independence 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 The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme lawof the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The 2010 edition replaced the 1963 independence constitut ...

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 The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mal ...

, 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.

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.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/
National Assembly of Niger
http://www.communication-gouv-niger.ne/
Government communications office of Niger. File:Flag of Niger (3-2).svg, Ratio 2:3 File:Flag of Niger (5-3).svg, Ratio 3:5 File:Flag of Niger (2-1).svg, Ratio 1:2

Historical flags

Other flags

Military flags

File:Flag of niger armed forces obv.jpg, Flag of the

Niger Armed Forces The Niger Armed Forces (french: Forces armées nigériennes) (FAN) includes military armed force service branches ( Niger Army and Niger Air Force), paramilitary services branches ( National Gendarmerie of Niger and National Guard of Niger) a ...

, obverse side File:Flag of niger armed forces rev.jpg, Flag of the Niger Armed Forces, reverse side File:Flag of the National Gendarmerie (Niger).png, Flag of the

Gendarmerie Nationale Gendarmerie Nationale most commonly refers to: * Gendarmerie Nationale (France) * Gendarmerie Nationale (Belgium), merged with Belgian police in 2001 Gendarmerie Nationale may also refer to: *Gendarmerie Nationale (Algeria) * Gendarmerie National ...

File:Flag of the National Police (Niger).png, Flag of the National Police File:Roundel of Niger.svg, Roundel of the Niger Air Force File:Roundel of Niger (1961–1980).svg, Historical roundel of the Niger Air Force (1961-1980)

Ethnic group flags

File:Flag of the Hausa people.svg, Flag of the Hausa people (53.1% of the total population of Niger) File:Touareg People Flag.svg, Flag of the Tuareg people (11.0% of the total population of Niger) File:Flag of the Kanuri people.svg, Flag of the Kanuri people (5.9% of the total population of Niger) File:Flag of the Toubou people.svg, Flag of the

Toubou people The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "rock people") are an ethnic group native to the Tibesti Mountains that inhabit the central Sahara in northern Chad, southern Libya and northeastern Niger. They live either as herders and nomads ...

(0.4% of the total population of Niger) File:Le drapeau Toubou-Gorane.png, Flag of Daza-speaking Toubou people

Notes

References

* 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,
Flag of Niger at FOTW
(consulted 2008-07-25).