Flag of Sri Lanka

Country

Flag of Sri Lanka uses golden lion with a sword on maroon, with green and orange bands and bo leaves. Ratio 1:2 and current adoption September 7, 1978.

Hoist Ratio 1:2 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of Sri Lanka
Entity Type	Country
Official Name	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Identifier	LK / LKA
Region	Southern Asia

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	September 7, 1978
First Documented Use	1948
Proportion	1:2
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	Maroon, Gold, Green, Orange
Construction	Golden lion with a sword on maroon, with green and orange bands and bo leaves
Common Name	The Lion Flag

Documented Colour Values

Colour	HEX	RGB	CMYK
Maroon	#8D2029	141, 32, 41	0, 77, 71, 45
Gold	#FFBE29	255, 190, 41	0, 25, 84, 0
Green	#00534E	0, 83, 78	100, 0, 6, 67
Orange	#EB7400	235, 116, 0	0, 51, 100, 8

Design and Symbolism

Maroon	the Sinhalese majority.
Gold	the border, lion and leaves.
Green	the Muslim minority.
Orange	the Tamil minority.
Lion with sword	The Sinhala people and the authority of the nation — Sri Lanka is often called the Lion Flag.
Four bo leaves	The four Buddhist virtues of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

Proportions

Ratio	1:2
Hoist	1 units
Fly	2 units

About the Flag of Sri Lanka

Golden lion with a sword on maroon, with green and orange bands and bo leaves The recorded proportion is 1:2. Within this library it is grouped with plain field with a central emblem designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for Sri Lanka is Maroon (#8D2029), Gold (#FFBE29), Green (#00534E) and Orange (#EB7400). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

Lion with sword: The Sinhala people and the authority of the nation — Sri Lanka is often called the Lion Flag; Four bo leaves: The four Buddhist virtues of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1948. The adoption field for the present record is September 7, 1978.

Additional flag context

The lion holds a kastane, a traditional Sinhalese sword, in its right forepaw, and four bo leaves mark the corners of the maroon panel.

The two vertical bands at the hoist were added in 1951 to represent the Tamil and Muslim communities, making the flag an explicit statement about who the country contains.

The design descends from the royal standard of the Kingdom of Kandy, which was taken down when the British annexed the kingdom in 1815 and revived at independence.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Golden lion with a sword on maroon, with green and orange bands and bo leaves, a 1:2 proportion and the visible lion with sword. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — Sri Lanka — Specialist vexillological reference

Other plain field with a central emblem flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is recorded as golden lion with a sword on maroon, with green and orange bands and bo leaves.
The reference proportion for the flag of Sri Lanka is 1:2.
The stored palette for Sri Lanka contains Maroon, Gold, Green and Orange.
The adoption field for this country flag record is September 7, 1978.
The design record traces first use to 1948.
Its construction is grouped with the plain field with a central emblem design family in this library.
Lion with sword: The Sinhala people and the authority of the nation — Sri Lanka is often called the Lion Flag.
Four bo leaves: The four Buddhist virtues of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.
The lion holds a kastane, a traditional Sinhalese sword, in its right forepaw, and four bo leaves mark the corners of the maroon panel.
The two vertical bands at the hoist were added in 1951 to represent the Tamil and Muslim communities, making the flag an explicit statement about who the country contains.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of Sri Lanka

What does the flag of Sri Lanka look like?

Golden lion with a sword on maroon, with green and orange bands and bo leaves, with a recorded proportion of 1:2.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of Sri Lanka?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 1:2.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of Sri Lanka?

The reference palette lists Maroon #8D2029, Gold #FFBE29, Green #00534E and Orange #EB7400.

What do the symbols on the flag of Sri Lanka represent?

Lion with sword — The Sinhala people and the authority of the nation — Sri Lanka is often called the Lion Flag. Four bo leaves — The four Buddhist virtues of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

When was the present flag record for Sri Lanka adopted?

The adoption field in this record is September 7, 1978.

Which design family does the flag of Sri Lanka belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with plain field with a central emblem designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.

Where can I verify information about the flag of Sri Lanka?

The verification-source section on this page links to an official, governmental or specialist reference used to check the underlying record. Source wording is not copied into the article.