Flag of Myanmar (Burma)

Three horizontal stripes of yellow, green and red, with a large white five-pointed star in the centre that reaches into all three stripes.

At a glance

Adopted: October 21, 2010
Shape (height : width): 2:3
Capital: Naypyidaw
Continent: Asia
Colours: yellow
green
red
white

What it means

Yellow: unity
Green: peace, fairness and fertile land
Red: bravery and decisiveness
White star: purity, honesty, compassion and strength

Where it came from

The flag is described in the 2008 constitution, written under the military government, and it was adopted on 21 October 2010. At the same time the country's official name became the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

The three stripes honour the tricolour flags used during the struggle for independence. Earlier proposals in 2006 and 2007 placed the stripes and the star differently before the final design was chosen.

History

The first flag after independence in 1948 was red with a blue top corner holding one large white star and five smaller stars. In 1974 the socialist government changed it: the corner showed 14 white stars around a cogwheel and an ear of rice, for workers, farmers and the 14 states and divisions.

On adoption day in 2010 the new flag was raised at government offices across the country at 3 p.m., and officials were told to burn the old flags.

Fun facts

In 1947 a flag committee turned down the idea of putting a peacock on the state flag.
When the flag hangs vertically, the yellow goes on the left and the star points left.
The new flag went up at exactly 3 p.m. on its first day.

Easy to mix up with

Lithuania: Lithuania has the same three colours in the same order but no star
Ethiopia: Ethiopia has green, yellow and red stripes with a blue disc and a yellow star
Ghana: Ghana has red, gold and green with a black star