Flag of Mauritius

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Republic of Mauritius
Flag of Mauritius.svg
The Four Bands, Les Quatre Bandes
Use National flag
Proportion2:3
AdoptedMarch 12, 1968;57 years ago (1968-03-12)
DesignFour horizontal bands of red, blue, yellow and green.
Designed byGurudutt Moher
Civil Ensign of Mauritius.svg
Use Civil ensign
Proportion1:2
DesignA red field with the national flag in and the coat of arms in a white circle on the fly side.
Government Ensign of Mauritius.svg
Use State ensign
Proportion1:2
DesignA navy blue field with the national flag in the canton corner, with the coat of arms on the fly side of the flag.
Naval Ensign of Mauritius.svg
Use Naval ensign
Proportion26:57
DesignA white field with a blue band on each side, followed by two red stripes with the middle red stripe being thinner, charged with an anchor with a gold five-pointed star above it.
Presidential Standard of Mauritius.svg
Use Presidential standard
Proportion2:3
DesignThe national flag with a white circle, within it the coat of arms, below it, a golden wreath and the letters RM.

The national flag of Mauritius, also known as The Four Bands (Les Quatre Bandes), was adopted upon independence, 12 March 1968. It consists of four horizontal bands of equal width, coloured (from top to bottom) red, blue, yellow, and green. The flag was recorded at the College of Arms in London on 9 January 1968.

Contents

The flag was designed by Gurudutt Moher whose contribution was recognised posthumously in March 2018 in the form of the national title Member of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (MSK). [1] Moher, who was a retired school teacher, died of a heart attack on 7 October 2017, at the age of 93. [2]

The civil ensign (for private vessels) and government ensign (for state vessels) are red and blue flags, respectively, each with the national flag in the canton and the coat of arms of Mauritius in the fly. They are based on the British Red and Blue Ensigns.

The naval ensign (used by coast guard vessels) is an unusual design consisting of red, white, and blue vertical stripes of unequal widths defaced by a central anchor/key emblem.

Colours

Under current legislation through The National Flag, Arms of Mauritius, National Anthem and Other National Symbols of Mauritius Act (2022), it sets out the flag of Mauritius as consisting of red, blue, yellow and green bands. [3]

It also indicates the symbolism behind the meaning of the colours of the flag: [4]

In an attempt to unite the nation, especially following the deadly and divisive riots of 1965 and those of 1968, the colours also have political origins. Indeed, the colours also represent the main political parties which existed at the time, namely: [5]

The colour codes set for the four colours of the flag under law are dictated in Pantone fashion home cotton and that the tolerance for overlapping between 2 different colours be no more than one millimetre. [3] The table below converts the Pantone colours in various other colour codes, corresponding to the official colours:

ColoursRedBlueYellowGreen
Pantone [3] 18-1664TC19-3939TC14-0957TC17-6030TC
CMYK 0/87/85/1949/43/0/650/26/90/3100/0/34/47
RGB 208/28/3145/51/89247/183/240/134/88
Hexadecimal #EB2436#2D3359#F7B718#008658

Sizes

The official sizes of the flag are in accordance with The National Flag, Arms of Mauritius, National Anthem and Other National Symbols of Mauritius Act (2022). The flag size is in the ratio of 2:3.

Flag typeWidth × Height
(mm)
Colour band
height (mm)
Mast1800 × 1200300
Desk/Handheld150 × 10025
Car300 × 20050

Historical flags

See also

References

  1. "Décorés de la République: le père de notre quadricolore enfin reconnu". L'Express. 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  2. "Gurudutt Moher, père du quadricolore | lexpress.mu". Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  3. 1 2 3 "The National Flag, Arms of Mauritius, National Anthem and Other National Symbols of Mauritius Act (2022)" (PDF). mauritiusassembly.govmu.org. Mauritius National Assembly. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  4. The Government Gazette of Mauritius (2015). "THE NATIONAL FLAG ACT 2015" (PDF). The Government Gazette of Mauritius. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  5. Mohamed, Yousuf (25 February 2018). "Video 6: Interview of Yousuf Mohamed, Lawyer". Rogers Capital. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2018-02-25.