Flag of Sri Lanka
Asia
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
- Flag adopted
- 1972
- Population
- 21,763,170
- Area
- 65,610 kmยฒ
- Languages
- Sinhala, Tamil
- Currency
- Sri Lankan rupee (Rs เถปเท) โ LKR
- Demonym
- Sri Lankan
- Government
- presidential republic
- Subregion
- Southern Asia
- Driving side
- Left
- Timezones
- UTC+05:30
- Independence
- 1948
Religions
- Buddhist 70.2%
- Hindu 12.6%
- Muslim 9.7%
- Roman Catholic 6.1%
- Protestant 1.3%
- Other 0.05%
About This Flag
The flag of Sri Lanka, known as the Lion Flag (Sinha Flag), features a gold lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore paw on a dark maroon (crimson) background, with a golden border surrounding the lion panel. To the left of the lion panel are two vertical stripes โ green and orange โ representing the island's minority Muslim and Tamil communities respectively.
The lion represents the Sinhalese people and the bravery of the nation. Four gold bo leaves in each corner of the maroon panel symbolize Buddhism and the four Buddhist concepts of metta, karuna, muditha, and upekkha (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity).
The current design was adopted in 1972 when the country became a republic.
What the colors & design mean
The golden lion represents the Sinhalese ethnic group and bravery. The kastane sword symbolizes the sovereignty of the nation. The maroon background represents the minority Moor (Muslim) community. The orange stripe represents the Sri Lankan Tamil community, and the green stripe represents the Moor (Muslim) community. The four bo leaves represent Buddhism.
Pattern: Complex Design
Fun Facts
- Sri Lanka's flag is one of the oldest flag designs in the world โ the lion symbol dates back to 486 BC, when the legendary Prince Vijaya is said to have arrived on the island.
- The green and orange stripes were added in 1948 at independence to represent minority communities and promote national unity โ the original lion flag had only the maroon panel.
- The bo leaves in the corners reference the Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, believed to be the oldest historically documented tree in the world, grown from a cutting of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
- Sri Lanka's flag is considered one of the most complex national flag designs, requiring detailed depiction of the lion, sword, hair details, and bo leaves.
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