Flag of Lithuania

What the flag of Lithuania looks like

The flag of Lithuania has three horizontal stripes of equal height: yellow at the top, green in the middle and red at the bottom. It has no emblem or other symbols. The proportions are 3:5, which is a little narrower than the usual 2:3 used by many flags.

Because it is a plain three-color flag with a warm yellow, deep green and red, it is easy to confuse with several others made from the same colors in a different arrangement, such as the flags of Bolivia, Ghana and Guinea. Lithuania's is the only one among them with this exact order and without any extra symbols. It is also close to the flags of its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia in style, though not in color. You can find the emoji version at the Lithuania flag emoji page.

Lithuania flag meaning and symbolism

The colors are linked to the land and its people. The commonly cited meanings are:

• Yellow for the sun, light and prosperity, and in some readings also for the fields of ripe grain.
• Green for the forests and countryside, and for hope and freedom.
• Red for the blood of those who died defending the country.

These meanings are traditional rather than set by law, and other explanations exist.

History of the Lithuanian flag

The tricolor was proposed by Lithuanian activists in the early 20th century and became the national flag when Lithuania declared independence in 1918. It was used until 1940, when the Soviet Union occupied the country. During the Soviet period it was banned, and the Lithuanian SSR flew a red flag with a white and green stripe along the bottom.

As the independence movement grew, the tricolor was raised again in Vilnius in 1988 and was officially restored in 1989, before Lithuania declared independence from the USSR on 11 March 1990. Its proportions were changed in 2004, when a new law fixed the ratio at 3:5 instead of the earlier 1:2. Lithuania joined the EU and NATO that same year.

Why Lithuania has two flags

Besides the tricolor, Lithuania has a historical state flag. It is red with the Vytis, a white knight on a galloping horse holding a sword and shield, the old coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The tricolor is the national flag used everywhere; the Vytis flag is used in official and ceremonial settings and is one of the state symbols. The Grand Duchy later joined Poland in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth's flags used red and white in different combinations.