Under the United Nations trusteeship system set up after World War II, the French had an obligation to move Togo toward self-government. A local flag was adopted in 1956, shortly before the country was made an autonomous republic within the French Union. The flag’s green background stood for agriculture, hope, and youth; the French Tricolor in the upper hoist corner was a reminder of French overlordship. Two yellow five-pointed stars, arranged on an imaginary diagonal line running from the lower hoist to the upper fly, referred to the coastal plains of the south and the savannas of the north, “united in love of order and labour.”
On April 27, 1960, Togo became independent under a completely new flag; it reduced the two stars to one in order to emphasize national unity. The flag’s five green and yellow stripes correspond to the country’s administrative regions, while those colours are a reminder that the overwhelming majority of the population depends on the land for its sustenance (green) and its own labour for development (yellow). The red canton is said to stand for love, fidelity, and charity, while the white star is associated with purity. The same pan-African red-yellow-green colours were selected by several other countries that obtained independence soon before or after Togo.