Flags of the
World | Mozambique
Flag

Mozambique flag

Mozambique Flag

Flags of the World
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The flag of Mozambique is, perhaps most well known, for being the only flag in the world with a modern firearm depicted in its design, namely an AK-47 with a bayonet attached.

Whilst you may not regularly think about Mozambique, hidden away in the south-east of Africa, just north of South Africa, on the coast of the Indian Ocean, it has a long and complicated history, much of which depicted within the flag design.

flag of mozambique


Mozambique Flag Design

The flag of Mozambique is a classic tricolour design consisting of green, yellow and black.

Each horizontal bar is separated from the others by a thin white bar. On the hoist-side of the flag is a red triangle, similar to that on the flags of Palestine and Jordan.

Upon the red triangle is found an AK-47 crossing a hoe above a book. All of which is atop a yellow star.

The green represents the natural landscape of Mozambique and the rich environment of the country.

Black represents Africa. A colour commonly found in flags on the African continent.

Yellow represents the country’s minerals and resources.

Red represents the struggle for independence from Portugal which founded the nation as a colony in the 1400s, relinquishing control after a bloody civil war in 1974.

The white bars represent peace.

Each symbol on the crest represents a different national value;

The hoe is symbolic of agriculture; the AK-47 represents the importance of defence and vigilance. The book is emblematic of the importance of education. It is all emblazoned on a yellow star which is symbolic of communism, more specifically, Marxism.


Mozambique Flag History

Since 1498, Mozambique was a colony of the Portuguese empire; as a national flag, Mozambique flew the national flag of Portugal.

Formed during the 1960s, the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, or Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) was a militia group whose main objective was to fight the imperialist occupation of the Portuguese.

The FRELIMO flag depicts a crossed hammer and hoe with a yellow star above it. All emblazoned on a red background. Elements of this flag were later included in the national flag.

For a brief time between 1974 and 1975, the flag was changed to a design extraordinarily similar to the modern flag. A green, black and yellow horizontal tricolour with white bars separating each colour with a red triangle on the hoist-side. However, the crest of the modern flag was missing from this iteration.

Following the formation of a socialist government in Mozambique under FRELIMO, the flag changed once again. This time, the green, red, yellow and black were depicted as sunbeams emanating from a crest in the canton.

This crest depicted an AK47, a hoe, a book and a communist/Marxist star, the same symbols as on the modern flag.

The crest was surrounded by a cog, a common symbol of the proletariat and Marxist political thought at the time.

For a month in 1983, a new intermediate design came about. This unique design saw the return of the tricolour design, but with the crest inside the red hoist-side triangle over a yellow star.

Soon after, the cog and red star would be removed, leaving the rifle, hoe and book emblazoned on a yellow star—the modern flag of Mozambique.



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Rich Beal

Rich Beal is our International Tours Manager.

Rich is one of our most experienced tour leaders. He has led tours worldwide since 2004, specialising in Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the surrounding area. Currently living in Mongolia, he leads multiple specialised trips annually and has over 20 years of experience running and designing tours of the region. 

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