Flag of Laos

What the flag of Laos looks like

The Laotian flag is a horizontal triband. The two red stripes at the top and bottom are each a quarter of the flag's height, and the blue stripe in the middle takes up the other half. A white disc sits in the center of the blue stripe. Its diameter is about four fifths of the height of the blue stripe, so there is a little blue visible above and below it. The ratio of the flag is 2:3.

There is no text or emblem. The simple design makes the flag easy to recognize, though it is sometimes confused with the flags of other Asian countries with red and blue, such as Thailand, which has five stripes and no disc. The Laos flag emoji shows the same disc on the blue band.

Laos flag meaning and symbolism

The red stripes stand for the blood shed by the Lao people in the struggle for independence and the defense of the country. The blue stripe stands for the Mekong River, which runs along the western border of Laos, and for the wealth and prosperity of the country.

The white disc has been explained in more than one way. It is commonly described as the full moon over the Mekong, and it is also read as a sign of the unity of the Lao people under the government. Some official explanations say that the white of the disc stands for purity and the bright future of the nation. The meanings are traditional and are not defined in the constitution, which only describes the design.

History of the Lao flag

For much of the 19th century, the Lao kingdoms were under the influence of Siam (Thailand). From the 1890s, the territory became part of French Indochina, and the French protectorate flew the French flag together with local royal banners. During the Japanese occupation in 1945, the Lao Issara ("Free Lao") movement declared independence and is generally said to have flown the red-blue-red flag, which later became a symbol of the independence movement.

After the French returned, the Kingdom of Laos was formed and used a different flag. It was red with a white three-headed elephant standing on a pedestal under a white parasol. The red-blue-red flag was kept by the Pathet Lao, the communist-led movement that fought the royal government during the civil war.

When the Pathet Lao took power in December 1975, the monarchy was abolished and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed. The red-blue-red flag was adopted as the national flag on 2 December 1975, and it has not changed since. The old royal elephant flag is no longer official, but it is still used by some Lao abroad.

Where Laos is and the neighbors' flags

Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. Compare it with Vietnam, which flies a red flag with a yellow star, or browse the flags of Asia.