Introduction
The flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is a green field carrying three things: a palm tree on a gold disc, a gold crescent, and the Southern Cross in gold.
Meaning & Symbolism
Each element names a different part of what the islands are. The palm is the coconut, which gave the islands their name and their economy. The crescent is the Cocos Malays, the Muslim population who make up most of the inhabitants. The Southern Cross is Australia.
Green and gold are the Australian national colours, so even the palette is doing double duty.
History of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Flag
The flag came out of a local design competition and has been in use since 2004. Legally the flag of the territory is the flag of Australia, and this one flies alongside it as the local flag.
The islands were run as a private estate by the Clunies-Ross family for over a century, until a United Nations supervised vote in 1984 in which the islanders chose integration with Australia.
Curiosities
- The crescent is for the Cocos Malays, who are most of the population, and Islam is the majority religion.
- Green and gold are Australia national colours, so the flag is Australian even before you reach the Southern Cross.
- The islands were the private property of one family, the Clunies-Ross, for more than a century.
- The islanders chose to join Australia in a United Nations supervised vote in 1984.
- Legally the official flag of the territory is still the Australian flag; this one flies beside it.
Download Flag
Download the flag of Cocos (Keeling) Islands in high-quality SVG vector format or PNG raster images. SVG files can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
Digital icon artwork; its proportions may differ from the official flag proportions listed on this page.