The flag of Sri Lanka
The flag of Sri Lanka
A dark red field with a gold lion holding a sword and four gold bo leaves at the corners, beside two vertical stripes of green and orange at the hoist, all within a gold border.
Ratio 1:2 · current design adopted 1972
The two hoist stripes were added in 1951 explicitly to represent the Tamil and Muslim minorities alongside the Sinhalese lion, and the bo leaves replaced spearheads in 1972 — a rare case of a flag revised twice for the specific purpose of making it more inclusive. The lion flag itself is traced to the last king of Kandy and was hauled down by the British in 1815. It is one of the most detailed national flags in the world, with the lion's mane, claws and sword hilt all specified. The gold border frames the entire design.
What the colours mean
- Crimson
#8D2029The Sinhalese majority - Green
#00534EThe Muslim community - Orange
#EB7400The Tamil community - Gold
#FFBE29The lion, the border and the leaves
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 |
|---|---|
| Lion with sword | The Sinhala people and the authority of the state |
| Four bo leaves | The four Buddhist virtues: loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity |
- Ratio
- 1:2
- Current design adopted
- 1972
- Colours
- crimson, green, orange, gold
Common questions
- What does the flag of Sri Lanka look like?
- A dark red field with a gold lion holding a sword and four gold bo leaves at the corners, beside two vertical stripes of green and orange at the hoist, all within a gold border.
- What do the colours of the Sri Lanka flag mean?
- Crimson: the Sinhalese majority. Green: the Muslim community. Orange: the Tamil community. Gold: the lion, the border and the leaves.
- When was the Sri Lanka flag adopted?
- The current design dates from 1972, and its official ratio is 1:2.
Related pages
- Sri Lanka Capital, area, population and currency
- Every flag with crimson in it
- The flag of Japan Ratio 2:3
- The flag of Nepal Ratio Non-rectangular; the constitution gives a geometric construction, and the resulting height is about 1.22 times the width
- The flag of Latvia Ratio 1:2
- The flag of Eswatini Ratio 2:3
Sources
- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))