Flag of Bhutan

What the flag of Bhutan looks like

The national flag of Bhutan is divided diagonally from the bottom of the fly to the top of the hoist. The upper triangle, next to the pole, is saffron yellow. The lower triangle, at the free end, is orange. The proportions are 2:3.

A large white dragon runs along the line between the two triangles. It faces away from the hoist, with its head pointing toward the fly. The dragon holds a jewel in each of its claws, and its mouth is open, showing its fangs.

Bhutan's flag is one of the few national flags that show an animal as the main element, and it is the only national flag with a dragon as its centerpiece. The measured colors on this page include a light grey, which is the shading on the dragon's body and not a separate flag color. A small version is available as the Bhutan flag emoji, and a larger file on the Bhutan flag download page.

Bhutan flag meaning and symbolism

Every part of the flag has an accepted meaning that reflects the country's twin traditions of state and Buddhism.

• Yellow: the secular authority and civil tradition of the king, the Druk Gyalpo, the "Dragon King".
• Orange: the Buddhist spiritual tradition, in particular the Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma schools.
• The dragon: the name of the country, Druk Yul, and the thunder that Bhutanese traditionally hear in the mountains. It faces outward, away from the pole.
• White color of the dragon: purity and the loyalty of all the people of Bhutan, whatever their ethnic or linguistic background.
• The jewels in its claws: the wealth and prosperity of the nation and the protection of its people.
• The open mouth: the voice of the protective deities, who are said to defend the country from its enemies.

These meanings are traditional, and sources differ slightly in the details.

History of the Bhutan flag

Dragon banners have a long history in Bhutan, which has been a Buddhist kingdom since the 17th century and has never been colonized. The modern national flag developed in the late 1940s, when Bhutan began to have formal relations with newly independent India and needed a flag for the occasion.

Early versions of the flag were modified several times in the following years. The version used today dates from 1969. The flag is credited to Mayum Choying Wangmo Dorji, a member of the royal family, who is said to have been a major influence on the design, and Bhutanese craftsmen worked on the dragon.

The flag remains in the same form today. It is flown on government buildings and at the district fortress-monasteries known as dzongs, and national rules cover how it must be hung and handled.

About Bhutan

Bhutan is a small kingdom in the eastern Himalayas, between China to the north and India to the south, and its capital is Thimphu. It is a country in South Asia, not Africa, and it is independent, though it has close ties with India. The country is known for measuring its progress with a "Gross National Happiness" index. Compare it with other Asian flags on the flags of Asia page.