What is the band-width ratio of Cape Verde’s five horizontal flag bands? It is 6:1:1:1:3. The ratio describes the bands from top to bottom: blue, white, red, white, and blue.
The top blue band occupies 6/12 of the flag’s height, or one half. Each of the three central white-red-white stripes is 1/12 high, while the bottom blue band is 3/12, or one quarter. Adding the parts gives twelve equal units in total.
The design was introduced with Cape Verde’s current flag on 22 September 1992. A circle of ten yellow stars sits over the red stripe and is placed toward the hoist, the side attached to the flagpole. The stars symbolize the country’s main islands.
People often mistake the bands for five equal stripes because the central colors are narrow and visually balanced. They are not equal: the upper blue field is twice the height of the lower blue field, and each slim central stripe is one-sixth the height of the top band.