The DR Congo flag (restored 20 February 2006) is a sky‑blue field with a yellow five‑pointed star at the hoist and a red diagonal band edged yellow from lower hoist to upper fly. It reprises earlier Congolese designs: blue for peace and hope; red for the people’s blood; yellow for wealth; the star for a radiant future. Ratio commonly 3:5; geometry is standardised.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s flag is both a return and a redesign—an effort to connect a vast country’s turbulent history to a simple, forward‑looking emblem. Restored by law on 20 February 2006 after a transition period, the banner presents a sky‑blue field crossed by a red diagonal band from lower hoist to upper fly, the band edged on both sides in yellow, and a single large yellow five‑pointed star near the hoist. The composition echoes earlier national symbols while discarding authoritarian associations, and it has since become one of Africa’s most recognisable flags.
The Congo’s vexillological story began at independence in 1960 with a light‑blue field bearing six small yellow stars along the hoist and a larger star near the canton—an image of provinces held together in unity. Political consolidation and upheaval quickly produced variants: a solid blue field with a single star under Mobutu’s Zaire rebranding; later, during the transitional years after 2003, the diagonal band returned as a provisional emblem of continuity and change. The 2006 settlement formalised the modern geometry, setting a typical 3:5 ratio, the width of the red band as a fixed fraction of the flag’s height, precise fimbriation thickness, and colour references for consistent manufacture.
Colour and shape address both memory and aspiration. Blue is widely explained as peace and hope after conflict; red as the blood and sacrifice of the people; yellow as the country’s mineral wealth and the promise of development; the star as a radiant future and national unity. The diagonal carries practical and symbolic weight: visually strong at distance and distinctive in international displays, it also links the current republic to earlier periods of constitutional government without reviving divisive insignia. Education materials issued with the 2006 law emphasised correct orientation when hung vertically (the band should rise toward the viewer’s right) and the rules of precedence when flown with provincial or foreign flags.
Across ministries, provincial assemblies, and diplomatic missions, the restored banner has provided a shared sign in a multilingual federation. Military and presidential standards add coats of arms or fringes but derive directly from the civil flag. In civic life the design appears in classrooms, voter‑education campaigns, and sporting events, where its high‑contrast palette is easily reproduced on fabric or digital screens. Protocol prescribes respectful handling, half‑masting by decree, night illumination when displayed continuously, and dignified retirement of worn flags. Manufacturers adhere to the geometry so that commercial flags keep the diagonal’s angle and the star’s diameter, preventing drift that once muddied public displays.
For many Congolese the star and diagonal together capture a determination to move forward—an emblem of unity not tied to one city or community but to the shared idea of a peaceful and prosperous future. In that sense the 2006 flag is less a break than a synthesis: a modern, legally precise image that acknowledges the past while orienting the republic toward the horizon.