Flag of Lebanon
Asia
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Beirut
- Flag adopted
- 1943
- Population
- 5,490,000
- Area
- 10,452 km²
- Languages
- Arabic, French
- Currency
- Lebanese pound (ل.ل) — LBP
- Demonym
- Lebanese
- Government
- parliamentary democratic republic
- Subregion
- Western Asia
- Driving side
- Right
- Timezones
- UTC+02:00
- Independence
- 1943
Religions
- Muslim 67.8%
- Christian 32.4%
- Druze 4.5%
About This Flag
The flag of Lebanon consists of two horizontal red stripes at the top and bottom with a wider white stripe in the center, upon which stands a green cedar tree. The red represents the blood shed for liberation, and the white symbolizes peace, purity, and the snow-capped mountains.
The green cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) is the country's most enduring national symbol, mentioned repeatedly in the Bible and ancient texts as a tree of strength, holiness, and eternity. The cedar has represented the Lebanese people and their territory for thousands of years.
The flag was adopted on December 7, 1943, upon independence from the French Mandate.
What the colors & design mean
Red symbolizes the blood shed in the fight for independence. White represents peace, purity, and the snowy peaks of Mount Lebanon. The green cedar of Lebanon represents immortality, steadiness, and resilience — a symbol of the Lebanese people dating back to biblical antiquity.
Pattern: Horizontal Stripes
Bordering countries (2)
Fun Facts
- The cedar of Lebanon is mentioned over 70 times in the Bible, and the ancient Phoenicians (ancestors of modern Lebanese) exported the prized wood throughout the Mediterranean for shipbuilding and temple construction.
- Lebanon's cedar forests once covered vast areas of Mount Lebanon, but centuries of logging have reduced them to a few small groves, which are now UNESCO-protected.
- Lebanon is the only Asian country whose flag features a tree as its primary emblem.
- The Phoenicians, based in what is now Lebanon, created one of the world's first alphabets around 1050 BC, which became the ancestor of Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew scripts.
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