Flag of Togo

Togolese artist Paul Ahyi (1930–2010) was the designer of the flag.{{sfn|Le Télégramme|2010}} Ahyi studied art in France and graduated from the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris in 1959 before returning to Togo. The following year, he designed the flag of Togo, which was adopted upon the country's proclamation of independence on 27 April 1960.{{sfn|Roussel|2020}}{{sfn|Panara|2020}}{{sfn|Government of Togo|2021}}

The design of the flag is outlined in Title I, Article 3 of the Constitution of Togo, 1992 (2019 revision). It states:{{sfn|Constitution of Togo|2019|loc=Title I, Article 3}}

{{Text and translation

| The national emblem is the flag composed of five alternating horizontal bands of green and yellow. It bears in the upper left corner a white five-pointed star on a red square background.

| {{lang|fr|L'emblème national est le drapeau composé de cinq bandes horizontales alternées de couleur verte et jaune. Il porte à l'angle supérieur gauche une étoile blanche à cinq branches sur fond carré rouge.}}

}}

The proportions of the flag are not mentioned in the constitution and sources differ as to the exact ratio. American vexillologist Whitney Smith, writing in the Encyclopædia Britannica, stated that the width-to-length ratio is approximately 3:5.{{sfn|Smith|2001}} Polish vexillologist Alfred Znamierowski meanwhile stated that the ratio is 2:3.{{sfn|Znamierowski|2020|p=219}} It has also been claimed that Ahyi followed the golden ratio (represented by the Greek letter phi, 𝜑) when designing the flag, which would make it a golden rectangle. In other words, its width-to-length ratio would be 1:𝜑, where {{math|{{varphi}} {{=}} {{sfrac|1+{{sqrt|5}}|2}} ≈ 1.618}}.{{sfn|Posamentier|Lehmann|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Gw-lqvE6fNgC&dq=%22flag+of+togo%22+%22golden+ratio%22&pg=SA4-PA54 53–54]}}{{sfn|Johar|2024|p=286}}

The flag uses the pan-African colours of green, yellow, and red, which were adopted by several other African countries upon independence.{{sfn|Smith|2001}} Its five stripes represent the five regions of Togo.{{sfn|Smith|2001}} The office of the Togolese president gives the following significance to the flag's colours and symbols: green represents forests, agriculture, and hope; yellow represents natural resources, faith, and maturity; red represents the blood shed by those who fought for Togolese independence; and the white star represents peace, intelligence, and light.{{sfn|Government of Togo|2021}}

File:Flag of French Togoland (yellow stars).png (1956–1960)]]

During the colonial era, Togo flew the flag of its colonial ruler: Germany from 1884 to 1914 (as part of German Togoland) and France from 1916 to 1960.{{sfn|Knoll|1978|p=22}}{{sfn|Minahan|2009|p=928}} The United Nations trusteeship system established after World War II obliged France to move Togo (then French Togoland) towards self-government.{{sfn|Smith|2001}} Togo was made an autonomous republic within the French Union on 24 August 1956, and a new flag was adopted along with a motto, an anthem, and a national day.{{sfn|Gayibor|1997|p=212}} The flag was a green field with the French tricolour in the canton and two five-pointed yellow stars, one in the lower hoist and one in the upper fly. The green field represented agriculture, hope, and youth, while the two stars represented Togo's northern savannas and southern coastal plains.{{sfn|Smith|2001}}{{sfn|Gayibor|1994|p=134}}

File:Armoiries du Togo.svg]]

The flag of Togo is featured on the country's coat of arms. Its inclusion is described in the Togolese constitution:{{sfn|Constitution of Togo|2019|loc=Title I, Article 3}}

{{Text and translation

| The coat of arms of the Togolese Republic is thus constituted{{nbsp}}... [a] silver shield of oval shape and with a sinople border, in the chief the national emblem, two flags back-to-back and the motto on a banner; in the heart of sable, the initials of the Togolese Republic on a background of indented gold; at the base, two lions guled back-to-back.

| {{lang|fr|Les armoiries de la République togolaise sont ainsi constituées{{nbsp}}... écu d'argent de forme ovale et à la bordure de sinople, en chef l'emblème national, deux drapeaux adossés et devise sur banderole ; en coeur de sable les initiales de la République togolaise sur fond d'or échancré ; en pointe, deux lions de gueules adossés.}}

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• List of Togolese flags

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite web |title=Constitution du Togo, 1992 |trans-title=Constitution of Togo, 1992 |url=https://mjp.univ-perp.fr/constit/tg2019.htm |website=Digithèque MJP |location=Lomé |publisher=Government of Togo |date=2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607200759/https://mjp.univ-perp.fr/constit/tg2019.htm |url-status=live |archive-date=7 June 2021 |orig-date=14 October 1992 |language=fr |ref={{harvid|Constitution of Togo|2019}}}}
• {{cite news|title=Décès de Paul Ahyi, le Picasso africain |trans-title=Death of Paul Ahyi, the African Picasso |url=http://www.letelegramme.com/ig/generales/france-monde/monde/culture-deces-de-paul-ahyi-le-picasso-africain-05-01-2010-725318.php9 |work=Le Télégramme |date=5 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719150949/http://www.letelegramme.com/ig/generales/france-monde/monde/culture-deces-de-paul-ahyi-le-picasso-africain-05-01-2010-725318.php9 |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 July 2011 |language=fr |ref={{harvid|Le Télégramme|2010}}}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Gayibor |editor-first=Nicoué Lodjou |title=Le Togo sous domination coloniale (1884–1960) |trans-title=Togo under colonial rule (1884–1960) |date=1997 |publisher=Presses de l'UB |isbn=978-2-909886-34-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B5kPAQAAMAAJ |language=fr}} ([https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers17-08/010012853.pdf PDF])
• {{cite book |last=Gayibor |first=Nicoué Lodjou |title=Les Togolais face à la colonisation |trans-title=The Togolese facing colonisation |date=1994 |publisher=Presses de l'UB |isbn=978-2-909886-19-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_a4uAQAAIAAJ |access-date=26 August 2024 |language=fr}}
• {{cite book |last=Johar |first=Syafiq |chapter=Some Applications of Real Sequences |title=The Big Book of Real Analysis: From Numbers to Measures |date=4 January 2024 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-031-30832-1 |pages=263–296 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnPsEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
• {{cite book |last=Knoll |first=Arthur J. |title=Togo Under Imperial Germany, 1884–1914: A Case Study in Colonial Rule |date=1978 |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8179-6091-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mfoLAQAAMAAJ |language=en}}
• {{cite web |title=Les symboles de la république Togolaise |trans-title=The Symbols of the Togolese Republic |url=https://presidence.gouv.tg/les-symboles-de-la-republique-togolaise/ |website=Presidency of the Togolese Republic |location=Lomé |publisher=Government of Togo |date=2021 |language=fr |ref={{harvid|Government of Togo|2021}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Minahan |first=James B. |title=The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems: [2 volumes] |date=23 December 2009 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-34497-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D7rOEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
• {{cite news |last=Panara |first=Marlène |title=Togo : une histoire mouvementée |trans-title= Togo: A Turbulent History |url=https://www.lepoint.fr/afrique/togo-une-histoire-mouvementee-27-04-2020-2373004_3826.php |work=Le Point |date=27 April 2020 |language=fr}}
• {{cite book |last1=Posamentier |first1=Alfred S. |author-link1=Alfred S. Posamentier |last2=Lehmann |first2=Ingmar |title=The Glorious Golden Ratio |date=20 December 2011 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-61614-424-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gw-lqvE6fNgC |language=en}}
• {{cite news |last=Roussel |first=Jane |title=Paul Ahyi : ce musée qui lui est dédié à Lomé |trans-title=Paul Ahyi: This Museum Dedicated to Him in Lomé |url=https://www.lepoint.fr/afrique/paul-ahyi-ce-musee-qui-lui-est-dedie-a-lome-14-01-2020-2357580_3826.php |work=Le Point |date=14 January 2020 |language=fr}}
• {{cite web |last=Smith |first=Whitney |author-link=Whitney Smith |title=Flag of Togo |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Togo |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |date=16 February 2001 |language=en}}
• {{Cite book |last=Znamierowski |first=Alfred |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkS1wgEACAAJ |title=The World Encyclopedia of Flags: An Illustrated Guide to International Flags, Banners, Standards and Ensigns |date=2020-09-20 |publisher=Anness Publishing |isbn=978-0-7548-3480-9 |language=en}}

{{refend}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Flags of Togo}}
• {{FOTW|id=tg|title=Togo}}

{{Africa topic|Flag of|title=Flags of Africa}}

{{National flags}}

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Category:National symbols of Togo

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