---
title: "Flag of Sri Lanka: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Sri Lanka flag stands for, its official 1:2 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/sri-lanka/
site: "At One Place"
---

# 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

*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.*

- **Crimson** (#8D2029) — The Sinhalese majority
- **Green** (#00534E) — The Muslim community
- **Orange** (#EB7400) — The Tamil community
- **Gold** (#FFBE29) — The lion, the border and the leaves

## 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](https://atoneplace.net/country/sri-lanka/)
- [Every flag with crimson in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/crimson/)
- [The flag of Japan](https://atoneplace.net/flag/japan/)
- [The flag of Nepal](https://atoneplace.net/flag/nepal/)
- [The flag of Latvia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/latvia/)
- [The flag of Eswatini](https://atoneplace.net/flag/eswatini/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]