Flag of Palau

What the flag means

The disc is a full moon, which Palauans see as the best time for fishing, harvesting and celebrations. Palau's government also links it to the country's emergence as an independent nation. The blue is the ocean and Palau's passage from foreign rule to self-government.

History

Blau Skebong won a flag contest held in 1979. Public Law 7-6-2, passed on 18 September 1980, set out the flag, including a disc 0.6 of the flag's height in diameter with its centre placed 0.7 of the height from the hoist. The flag came into use on 1 January 1981, when Palau left the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands as a self-governing republic.

The disc is a moon. A Japanese professor claimed the flag honours Japan's Rising Sun flag, but the designer denied any connection.

Earlier flags of Palau

1. 1965–1981Flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

Flags that look like this one

JapanBangladeshPalau

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.