State Flag of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (1978)

The main component of the Sri Lankan flag is a golden lion on a crimson field, called the 'Lion Flag', it has been used as a flag by the Singhalese people, the ethnic majority of Sri Lanka for centuries.

One hundred and fifty years of British colonial rule came to an end on the island of Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then called, on 4th of February 1948, with the newly independent country adopting the Singhalese Lion Flag as the national flag. 

In 1951, the flag was modified to include orange and green vertical stripes at the hoist to represent the minority religious groups of the country.

Ceylon declared itself a republic and changed its name to Sri Lanka on the 22nd of May 1972. 

At the same time four stylised bo leaves of the sacred pipul tree were added to the inner corners of the crimson rectangle.

The current design dates from the on the 7th of September 1978, when the bo leaves were slightly altered to a more realistic representation.

The Symbolic Meaning

The green stripe represents the minority Muslims and the orange stripe the minority Hindu Tamils of the country. Yellow symbolises Buddhism, while crimson connotes long life.

The golden lion on a crimson field is an ancient symbol of the Singhalese. The sword held by the lion is a symbol of authority.

The bo leaves are a Buddhist symbol and come from the pipul tree, under which Gautama is said to have received enlightenment and become Buddha.

Individually the leaves represent love, compassion, sympathy and equanimity.