Flag of Bangladesh
A red disc on a bottle-green field. The disc is set slightly towards the hoist, and its radius is one-fifth of the flag's length.
What the flag means
The green is usually explained as the land and its vegetation, and the red disc as the rising sun and the blood shed in the 1971 Liberation War. The flag has no crescent and star, which in 1970 were seen as symbols of West Pakistan.
History
Student activists at Dhaka University made the first version in 1970, with a yellow map of East Pakistan inside the red disc. The student leader A. S. M. Abdur Rab raised it on the university campus in March 1971, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hoisted it at his home in Dhanmondi on 23 March 1971. It was the flag of the provisional government during the war. When the current flag was adopted in January 1972, the map was removed and the disc was moved towards the hoist.
The disc is placed off centre so that it looks centred when the flag is flying.
Earlier flags of Bangladesh
- 1971–1972Green with a red disc containing a yellow map of the country
Flags that look like this one
Japan is a red disc on white. Bangladesh is a red disc on green, set slightly toward the flagpole. Palau is a yellow disc on light blue.
Flags of Bangladesh's neighbours
Sources
- Wikipedia: Flag of Bangladesh
- Flags of the World: Bangladesh
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Read how we research flags in our editorial policy, or report a mistake.
