Flag of Sri Lanka
Officially Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Locally Śrī Laṅkāva · ශ්රී ලංකාව
What the flag looks like
A yellow border enclosing two panels: at the hoist, vertical green and saffron stripes; at the fly, a maroon panel with a gold lion holding a sword and a gold bo leaf in each corner.
What it means
The lion represents the Sinhalese people and the bravery of the nation, green and saffron the Muslim and Tamil communities, and the four bo leaves Buddhism's four virtues of kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
How to remember it
Sri Lanka
is the Lion Flag: a gold sword-wielding lion on maroon, with a green and a saffron stripe standing beside it.
Fun facts
- The green and saffron stripes were added soon after independence to represent minority communities, and the corner bo leaves took their current shape in 1972.
- In 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the world's first female prime minister.
Sri Lanka at a glance
- Capital
- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (official), Colombo (executive and commercial)
- Region
- Southern Asia
- Population
- 22 million
- Area
- 65,610 km²
- Languages
- Sinhala, Tamil
- Currency
- Sri Lankan rupee (Rs)
- Flag adopted
- 1972