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Rang

🇱🇰 The colours of Sri Lanka

7 meanings recorded, 9 colours tied to the country and 2 colour cities.

Sri Lanka’s flag brings together maroon, gold, orange, and green, each with its own meaning. Maroon and the lion stand for the Sinhalese people, while orange and green stripes represent the Tamil and Moor communities. Gold borders and bo leaves are linked to Buddhist values and the country’s many minorities.

maroonRepresents the Sinhalese ethnic group.
goldSymbolises Buddhist virtues and minority communities.
orangeRepresents the Tamil population.
greenRepresents the Moor (Muslim) community.

Where no official value is given, the swatch shows the colour family, not the exact shade.

  • The lion with a sword symbolises the Sinhalese people.
  • Orange and green stripes stand for Tamil and Moor communities.
  • Four gold bo leaves represent Buddhist values.
  • The flag’s gold border includes all minority groups.
  • The lion flag design dates back over 2,000 years.

The colours of the flag of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s flag features a golden lion holding a sword on a maroon field, bordered in gold. Four gold bo leaves, one at each corner, are said to stand for qualities valued in Buddhism: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Two stripes, orange and green, sit to the left of the lion. The orange stripe is for the Tamil community, and the green stripe for the Moors. The gold border is described as representing all other minority groups. These meanings are explained in official sources and are widely recognised.

How the colours were chosen of Sri Lanka

The lion emblem has deep roots in Sri Lankan history, appearing on banners as far back as the time of King Dutugemunu in the 2nd century BC. After British rule began in 1815, the old royal flag was replaced by colonial symbols. The original lion flag resurfaced in the early 20th century, sparking public interest. In 1948, as independence approached, the flag was chosen as a national symbol. Later changes included the addition of the orange and green stripes for minority groups and, in 1972, the replacement of spearheads with bo leaves at the corners.

Official shades and rules of Sri Lanka

The exact shades and layout for the flag’s colours are set out in a formal specification. This document defines the proportions, placement, and colours to ensure the flag is made consistently.

Where this page comes from

The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Flag of Sri Lanka", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

What colours mean in Sri Lanka

Customs vary by region, faith and family; these are the meanings most often recorded.

Compare with another country
Red

The national flag sets a gold lion on a maroon panel, which stands for the Sinhalese majority. Four bo leaves in the corners are for the Buddhist virtues of kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.

Politics and protestSource: Flag of Sri Lanka
Red

Red is the colour of the left, above all the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, whose supporters march in red on May Day.

Politics and protestSource: Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Orange

The orange stripe on the flag stands for the Tamils. It was added, with a green stripe, in 1951 so that the minorities had a place on it.

Politics and protestSource: Flag of Sri Lanka
Orange

Buddhist monks wear robes from bright saffron to deep maroon, and the shade often shows which monastic order a monk belongs to.

Sacred and holyCalmSource: Kasaya (clothing)
Green

The green stripe on the flag stands for the Muslims, known as Moors. Green is also the colour of the United National Party.

Politics and protestSource: United National Party
Blue

Blue is the colour of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. The national cricket team also plays in dark blue with yellow.

Politics and protestSource: Sri Lanka Freedom Party
White

Sinhalese Buddhists wear white to the temple and to funerals. White flags and banners are strung along the road to a house where someone has died.

Mourning and deathSacred and holyPurity and peaceGriefSource: Mourning

Colour cities of Sri Lanka

🇱🇰 City of the Red MosqueColomboIn the crowded Pettah market a mosque striped and checked in red and white stands out on every side.🇱🇰 The white fort townGalleA walled colonial town on Sri Lanka's south coast, with white churches, a white lighthouse and ochre villas.
Kadiramalai-Kandarodai 1Pomparippu 1

Colours tied to Sri Lanka

FamilyRedOrangeYellowGreenTurquoiseBluePurplePinkBrownWhiteGreyBlackGold
KindBasic colourNamed shadePigmentDyeColour named from natureTraditional colourNational or team colourHeraldic colourStandard colourScreen colour
Made fromMineral or earthPlantAnimalSyntheticLight only (no pigment)

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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