Flags by symbol · 2 flags
Flags With a Dragon
Two flags in our collection feature a dragon: Bhutan, with a white thunder dragon, and Wales, with a red dragon on green and white.
Bhutan: the thunder dragon
The flag of Bhutan is split diagonally into a yellow upper half and an orange lower half, with a white dragon across the line. The dragon, called Druk, is a thunder dragon, and the country's own name for itself, Druk Yul, means "Land of the Thunder Dragon". It grips jewels in its claws, which stand for wealth and security.
The yellow stands for the secular authority of the king, and the orange-saffron stands for the Buddhist tradition. The white color of the dragon stands for purity, and its snarling mouth for the power of protective deities.
Wales: Y Ddraig Goch
The Welsh flag shows a red dragon (Y Ddraig Goch) on a white and green field. The dragon is one of the oldest national symbols in Europe and has been linked to Wales since at least the early Middle Ages. Henry Tudor carried a dragon banner at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The green and white background is taken from the Tudor livery, and the flag was made official in 1959.
Wales is a country within the United Kingdom, and its dragon is not part of the Union Jack, which is why Wales is sometimes described as the only part of the UK missing from it.
Dragons on other flags
Dragons are rare on national flags today, but they used to be common. The Qing dynasty in China flew a yellow flag with a blue dragon in the late 19th century, and Chinese imperial banners often had dragon designs. Today only these two flags in our collection show one.
The two dragons are very different. Bhutan's is white and drawn from the Buddhist tradition, while the Welsh dragon is red and rooted in Celtic legend. Both are large and fill much of the flag, so they are easy to spot among similar designs.
The "dragon flag" is also the name of a core exercise in which you lift your body from a bench using only your abdominal muscles. It has no connection with the flag symbol.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries have a dragon on their flag?
Bhutan has a white dragon and Wales has a red one.
What does the dragon on the Bhutan flag mean?
It is the Druk, or thunder dragon, a guardian of the country. The jewels in its claws stand for wealth and security.
What is the Welsh dragon called?
Y Ddraig Goch, which means "the red dragon" in Welsh.
Why is the Welsh dragon not on the Union Jack?
The Union Jack combines the crosses of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales is not represented because the earlier flag of Great Britain was designed when Wales was part of the Kingdom of England. The red dragon has its own flag instead. See Wales and the United Kingdom.
Why is the Bhutan flag yellow and orange?
The flag is split diagonally. Yellow is said to stand for the civil tradition and the authority of the king, while orange signifies the Buddhist spiritual tradition. The dragon sits across the dividing line to show that both are equally important. See Bhutan.