Flag of Nepal

What the flag looks like

A non-rectangular flag of two stacked crimson pennants with a blue border; the upper pennant has a white crescent moon and the lower one a white twelve-pointed sun.

What it means

The two peaks represent the Himalayas and the two main religions, Hinduism and Buddhism; the moon and sun express the hope that the nation will last as long as they do, and crimson is the color of the rhododendron, the national flower.

How to remember it

Nepal is the only national flag that is not a rectangle: two stacked pennants like Himalayan peaks, with a moon above and a sun below.

Fun facts

• Nepal's constitution includes detailed step-by-step geometric instructions for drawing the flag.
• Eight of the fourteen mountains over 8,000 meters, including Everest, are wholly or partly in Nepal.

Nepal at a glance

Capital

Kathmandu

Region

Southern Asia

Population

30 million

Area

147,181 km²

Languages

Nepali

Currency

Nepalese rupee (₨)

Flag adopted

1962