Flag of Mauritius

Template:Short description Template:Infobox Flag The national flag of Mauritius, also known as The Four Bands (Template:Lang), 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.

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).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moher, who was a retired school teacher, died of a heart attack on 7 October 2017, at the age of 93.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name=LEG2022>Template:Cite web</ref>

It also indicates the symbolism behind the meaning of the colours of the flag:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Red represents the struggle for freedom and independence.
Blue represents the Indian Ocean, in which Mauritius is situated.
Yellow represents the light of freedom shining over the island.
Green represents the agriculture of Mauritius and its colour throughout the 12 months of the year.

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:<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Cbignore</ref>

Red: Parti Travailliste, a social-democrat party
Blue: PMSD, conservative
Yellow: IFB, socialist, Indo-Mauritian
Green: CAM, Islamist

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.Template:R The table below converts the Pantone colours in various other colour codes, corresponding to the official colours:

Colours	Red	Blue	Yellow	Green
Pantone Template:R	`18-1664TC`	`19-3939TC`	`14-0957TC`	`17-6030TC`
CMYK	`0/87/85/19`	`49/43/0/65`	`0/26/90/3`	`100/0/34/47`
RGB	`208/28/31`	`45/51/89`	`247/183/24`	`0/134/88`
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.