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Cote dʼIvoire

Côte dʼIvoire, Ivory Coast

Last modified: 2006-09-23 by phil nelson
Keywords: cote dʼivoire | ivory coast | tricolour: orange white green | elephant head |
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[Côte d'Ivoire] image by António Martins

Proportions: 2:3
Usage Code:
ISO Code: CI CIV 384
FIPS 10-4 Code: IV
MARC Code: iv
IOC Code: CIV

Location: Western Africa

Neighboring Countries:


Côte dʼIvoire: Index of Pages

See also


Description of the flag

Orange, white and green vertical tricolour. The construction details provided by the figure in Album des Pavillons (2000) [pay00] explain that the stripes are of equal width. Pantone approximation is given as orange Pantone 151c, green Pantone 347c.
Željko Heimer, 1 June 2001


Meaning of the flag

According to the web site of the Presidency of the Republic (no longer available), orange is the colour of the land, rich and generous, the meaning of our fight, the blood of a young people fighting for emancipation. White is for peace, but peace with justice.  Green is for hope and the certainty of a better future. 
M.V. Blanes, 21 June 2000


Other sources have reported that orange represents the savannahs in the north of the land, and green the woods in the south. White is a symbol of unity. This symbolism is the same as for the orange-white-green flag of Niger, and the vertical positions are influenced by the French tricolor. Officially adopted on 3 December 1959. Proportions 2:3.
Željko Heimer


Use of the flag

From the National Presidency web site:

The national flag should be placed

  • on all official buildings
  • on the desk of all State employees (public and semi-public administrations), as a table flag, horizontal or vertical ["fanion ou oriflamme"]
  • in the courtyard of all schools, colleges and universities, barracks, military and paramilitary institutions
  • in the right corner in front of the vehicles used by the President of the Republic and his representatives (prefets, sous-prefets, ambassadors).

Salute to the colours should occur regularly in schools and colleges and during official ceremonies.
Ivan Sache, 30 November 2000


Coat of arms

Current

[Côte d'Ivoire coat of arms] contributed by Ivan Sache

According to Cote d'Ivoire Embassy in Tokyo they confirm they modified the coat of arms and changed the colour in shield  from green to orange fading to green and in scroll from green to orange, white and green. They gave me the government website which shows the current coat of arms image.

The embassy has informed me this change happened sometime between November 2000 and January 2001.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 17 January 2002, 20 February 2002


The website shows the scroll in the national colours - Republique on an orange background, de Cote on a white one, and d'Ivoire on a green one, a golden sun with black and white rays, green palm trees with black and white stripes [palm trees are botanically not trees but herbs, so they have stipes instead of trunks] and a shield of indistinct colour (orange-greenish).
Ivan Sache, 30 November 2000

Coat of arms, 1964-circa 2000

[Côte d'Ivoire previous coat of arms] anonymous contribution

The elephant is the largest and strongest animal in the local fauna and gave its name to the country; it is considered as the national emblematic animal. The arms featuring the elephant, two palm trees and a rising sun, should be placed on all official documents. 

[The elephant was also the emblem of "Rassemblement Démocratique Africain", party of the late president Houphouet-Boigny at the time of independence, according to DK Pocket Book (1997) [rya97]. and Smith (1975) [smi75b] says the party name was "Parti Démocratique de Cote d'Ivoire". These are probably two successive names for the same party.]

The arms are represented in Smith with a green shield and all the rest in yellow (scroll, palm trees, rising sun). Smith and DK Pocket Book both say the shield was initially blue, but altered to green in 1964 to match better the national flag colours.
Ivan Sache, 30 November 2000


Aircraft Marking

From Album des Pavillons (2000) [pay00]: the roundel is green-white-orange concentric disks with diameters approximately 50:35:14 respectively. Note to the figure explains that the national flag is painted on the fin.
Željko Heimer, 1 June 2001


Force Aerienne de la Cote d'Ivoire was formed in Dec. 1961 and use the same markings continuously.
Dov Guitterman, 14 June 2004