Flag of Myanmar

Meaning and history of the flag of Myanmar

Myanmar's flag has three equal horizontal stripes — yellow on top, green in the middle, and red at the bottom — with a large white five-pointed star centered over all three. It was adopted on October 21, 2010, replacing the earlier socialist-era flag, which had featured a blue canton with a cogwheel and rice stalks.

Yellow symbolizes solidarity, green stands for peace, tranquility, and the country's lush vegetation, and red represents the courage and determination of the Burmese people. The white star represents unity, underscoring the importance of national cohesion in a country marked by enormous ethnic diversity, with more than 130 officially recognized ethnic groups.

The 2010 flag change was part of reforms carried out by the military government and proved controversial, as many citizens were attached to the earlier design. The new flag bears some resemblance to Lithuania's in its horizontal tricolor arrangement, though with the colors in a different order and the addition of the star. It also recalls Ghana's flag in its structure of three stripes with a central star, though the colors and shades differ.

You can view the flag of Myanmar in high resolution above and download it in several sizes for personal, educational or reference use. To explore more, visit the full Myanmar profile, its map, or the current local time in Naypyidaw.