The current flag of Cyprus was adopted on August 16, 1960. It features a map of the entirety of the island, with two olive branches below (a symbol of peace) on white (another symbol of peace). It is the only country to display its land area on its official flag. The map on the flag is a copper-yellow color, symbolizing the large deposits of copper ore on the island (chiefly in the form of chalcopyrite, which is yellow in color).

The flag of Cyprus was selected by the President of the Republic, Makarios III, in 1960 after a proposal made by a Turkish Cypriot school teacher, Ismet Guney, who brought him a message from the Vice-President Fazil Küçük.

Blue and red (the colours of the flag of Greece and the flag of Turkey) were deliberately avoided in an attempt to make the flag "neutral", but today the flag is often seen only as a symbol of the Greek Cypriots. It is the only national flag featuring a map.

The flags of India, Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina were also intended as flags of peace among communities but ended up being identified with one side.

Specifications
The map of the island comprises 44% of the flag. The colour of the map is copper (Pantone 144-C). Both the crest and the two olive-tree leaves are olive green (Pantone 336-C). The background is white. Ratio: 3:5.

Flags produced on Cyprus often differ from the original specifications, both regarding the size of the map and the colours used. The government announced in October 2005, that it would take steps to "start from scratch" and assure that only flags complying with the official specifications would be produced.

Cyprus Constitution for the Cyprus flag

1. The Republic shall have its own flag of neutral design and colour, chosen jointly by the President and the Vice-President of the Republic.

2. The authorities of the Republic and any public corporation or public utility body created by or under the laws of the Republic shall fly the flag of the Republic and they shall have the right to fly on holidays together with the flag of the Republic both the Greek and the Turkish flags at the same time.

3. The Communal authorities and institutions shall have the right to fly on holidays together with the flag of the Republic either the Greek or the Turkish flag at the same time.

4. Any citizen of the Republic or any body, corporate or unincorporate other than public, whose members are citizens of the Republic, shall have the right to fly on their premises the flag of the Republic or the Greek or the Turkish flag without any restriction”.

Proposed national flag
Under the terms of the Annan Plan, a new national flag would have been adopted by a reconstituted confederal republic of Cyprus. Unlike the current official flag, this version consciously incorporates colours representing Greece (blue) and Turkey (red) alongside a large copper-yellow band for Cyprus. It is likely that any future Cyprus settlement will include the adoption of a new flag.