Flag of Laos

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The flag of Laos was adopted on December 2, 1975. The flag had previously been used by the short-lived Lao nationalist government of 1945.

The flag consists of three horizontal strips, middle blue strip is twice the height of the top and bottom red stripes. In the middle is a white disc, the diameter of the disc is 0.8 times the height of the blue stripe. The flag ratio is 2:3.

The red color in the flag represents the blood shed in the struggle for independence, the blue color symbolizes the wealth of the country. The white disc represents the moon over the river Mekong, as well as the unity of the country under the communist government.

From 1952 until the fall of the royal government in 1975 the country had a red flag, with a white three-headed elephant (the god Erawan) in the middle. On top of the elephant is a nine-folded umbrella, while the elephant itself stands on a five level pedestal. The white elephant is a common royal symbol in south-east asia, the three heads referred to the three former kingdoms Vientiane, Luangprabang, and Xiengkhoung which made up the country. The nine-folded umbrella is also a royal symbol, originating from Mt. Meru in the Buddhist cosmology. The pedestal represented the law on which the country rested.

The Western heraldic blazon is A banner Gules, a Spanish fess azure charged with a plate.

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