Flag of Bangladesh

The flag of Bangladesh is dark green with a large red circle, placed a little toward the flagpole side.

At a glance

Adopted: January 17, 1972a first version with a yellow map of the country was raised in 1971; the map was removed when the current design was adopted in January 1972
Shape (height : width): 3:5
Capital: Dhaka
Continent: Asia
Colours: bottle green
red

What it means

Green field: officially the greenery, life and youth of the land
Red disc: officially the rising sun over Bengal and the sacrifice of those who died for independence; many people also describe it as their blood
Not Islam: some people say the green stands for Islam, but flag experts point out that this is not the official meaning

Where it came from

The first version was made by student activists in 1970 and raised at Dhaka University in March 1971, as Bangladesh fought for independence from Pakistan. It had a yellow map of the country inside the red circle. The map was painted on by Shib Narayan Das.

The final design is credited to the painter Quamrul Hassan. He removed the map, which was hard to draw correctly on both sides of the cloth.

History

Bangladesh became independent after the Liberation War of 1971. The new flag without the map was adopted in January 1972, and it has not changed since.

Fun facts

The red circle is not in the centre. It sits a little toward the pole, so it looks centred when the flag flutters in the wind.
In 2013, 27,117 people stood together to form the world's largest human flag, a Guinness record.
The first flag had a yellow map of Bangladesh inside the circle.
Its shape is 3 units tall and 5 long.

Easy to mix up with

Japan: Japan also has a red disc, but on white and exactly in the centre

Questions

What does the flag of Bangladesh look like?

The flag of Bangladesh is dark green with a large red circle, placed a little toward the flagpole side.

What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Bangladesh mean?

Green field: officially the greenery, life and youth of the land; Red disc: officially the rising sun over Bengal and the sacrifice of those who died for independence; many people also describe it as their blood; Not Islam: some people say the green stands for Islam, but flag experts point out that this is not the official meaning.

When was the flag of Bangladesh adopted?

The current flag of Bangladesh was adopted on January 17, 1972. (a first version with a yellow map of the country was raised in 1971; the map was removed when the current design was adopted in January 1972)