Country profile: Ghana

Ghana, the former British colony of the Gold Coast, became on 6 March 1957 the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence. Its flag, designed by the teacher and artist Theodosia Okoh, was raised that day.

From 1964 to 1966, under Kwame Nkrumah's one-party regime, the yellow band was replaced by a white one, in the colours of the Convention People's Party. After Nkrumah's fall in 1966, the original flag was restored.

Ghana was the first country to adopt the colours of the Ethiopian flag, which later became those of many African countries.

The elements of the Ghanaian flag have a precise meaning:

• Red: the blood of those who died for independence.
• Gold: the country's mineral wealth, including the gold that gave the Gold Coast its name.
• Green: the forests and natural wealth.
• Black star: the emancipation of Africa and the unity of African peoples, often described as the ‘lodestar of African freedom’.

The black star is inspired by the Black Star Line, the shipping company founded in 1919 by the pan-Africanist activist Marcus Garvey to link America and Africa.

Ghana's national football team took the nickname Black Stars in reference to the flag.

The Ghanaian flag resembles that of Bolivia, which combines the same colours in horizontal bands, but in a different order and without a star.