The flag of Bhutan
The flag of Bhutan
A field divided diagonally from the lower hoist to the upper fly, yellow above and orange below, with a large white dragon holding jewels straddling the divide.
Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1969
The dragon faces away from the hoist, so on the reverse of the flag it appears to face the other way — one of the few flags where the emblem is not mirrored but genuinely oriented. Thunder in the Himalaya was traditionally explained as the voice of dragons, which is where the country's name comes from. The flag was standardised in 1969 after earlier versions in which the dragon faced upward and the colours were reversed. Its diagonal division is shared with almost no other national flag.
What the colours mean
- Yellow
#FFD520The secular authority of the king - Orange
#FF4E12The Buddhist religious tradition - White
#FFFFFFThe dragon; purity and the loyalty of the peoples
Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.
The symbols on it
| What | What it stands for |
|---|---|
| Druk, the Thunder Dragon | The country's own name for itself, Druk Yul, the Land of the Thunder Dragon |
| Jewels in its claws | The wealth and security of the nation |
| The dragon's snarling mouth | The strength of the deities protecting Bhutan |
- Ratio
- 2:3
- Current design adopted
- 1969
- Colours
- yellow, orange, white
Common questions
- What does the flag of Bhutan look like?
- A field divided diagonally from the lower hoist to the upper fly, yellow above and orange below, with a large white dragon holding jewels straddling the divide.
- What do the colours of the Bhutan flag mean?
- Yellow: the secular authority of the king. Orange: the Buddhist religious tradition. White: the dragon; purity and the loyalty of the peoples.
- When was the Bhutan flag adopted?
- The current design dates from 1969, and its official ratio is 2:3.
Related pages
- Bhutan Capital, area, population and currency
- Every flag with yellow in it
- The flag of China Ratio 2:3
- The flag of Brazil Ratio 7:10
- The flag of Spain Ratio 2:3
- The flag of Ukraine Ratio 2:3
- The flag of Colombia Ratio 2:3
- The flag of Romania Ratio 2:3
- The flag of Sweden Ratio 5:8
- The flag of Vietnam Ratio 2:3
Sources
- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))