Flag of Bangladesh

National Flag of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
"The Red–Green"
UseNational flag
Proportion3:5
Adopted17 January 1972 (1972-01-17)
DesignA red disc slightly off centre to hoist (left as depicted) defacing a dark green banner.
Designed byQuamrul Hassan
Civil ensign of Bangladesh
UseCivil ensign
DesignA Red Ensign with the national flag of Bangladesh in the canton.
Naval ensign of Bangladesh
UseNaval ensign
DesignA White Ensign with the national flag of Bangladesh in the canton.
UseAir force ensign
Proportion1:2
DesignA field of air force blue with the national flag of Bangladesh in the canton and the Bangladesh Air Force roundel in the middle of the fly.

The national flag of Bangladesh, nicknamed Lal–Sobuj (Bengali: লাল–সবুজ, romanized: Lāl–Sôbuj, lit.'The Red–Green'), was adopted officially on 17 January 1972. It consists of a red circle on top of a dark green banner. The red circle is offset slightly toward the hoist so that it appears centred when the flag is flying. The civil ensign and naval ensign place it in the canton of a red or white field, respectively.

The flag is based on a similar flag used during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which had a yellow map of the country inside the red disc. In 1972, this map was removed from the flag. One reason given was the difficulty for rendering the map correctly on both sides of the flag.

While there are numerous interpretations, the most widely accepted interpretation says that the green of the flag symbolises the lush landscape of Bangladesh, and the red circle, reminiscent of the rising sun, represents the sacrifice made by the people during the Liberation War of 1971.