Flag of Cape Verde
The national Flag of Cape Verde was adopted on September 22, 1992, replacing the flag adopted during Cape Verdean independence, fought for with Guinea-Bissau, another former Portuguese colony on mainland West Africa.

Description
The 10 stars on the flag represent the main islands of the nation (a chain of islands off the coast of West Africa). The blue represents the ocean and the sky. The band of white and red represents the road toward the construction of the nation, and the colours stand for peace (white) and effort (red). The yellow colour, circular formation of the stars, and dark blue field show similarity to the flag of the European Union. The stripes are in 6:1:1:1:3 ratio, and the circle of stars is centred 3/8 along the fly.

Proportions
The Constitution of the Republic does not specify what the official proportions for the height and the width of the flag are. The dimensions of the parts that make up the flag are given proportionally to the dimensions of the sides, without specifying those dimensions. However, the proportion most widely used is 2:3, which is the same proportion that was used in the flag prior to 1992. Consequently, the proportion of 2:3 is the de facto (but not de jure) proportion.

History
The original flag was introduced on independence in 1975, with the common African colours of red, green and yellow; it is identical to the flag of Guinea-Bissau except for the charge in the hoist-side stripe. Both flags are based on the PAIGC flag, and their similarity evoke the plans to unite both countries, which however were abandoned shortly after independence.

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