Flag of Lithuania

What the flag of Lithuania looks like

The flag of Lithuania has three horizontal stripes of equal height: yellow at the top, green in the middle and red at the bottom. It has no emblem or other symbols. The proportions are 3:5, which is a little longer than the usual 2:3 used by many flags.

Because it is a plain three-color flag with a warm yellow, deep green and red, it is easy to confuse with several others made from the same colors in a different arrangement, such as the flags of Bolivia, Ghana and Guinea. Lithuania's is the only one among them with this exact order and without any extra symbols. Its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia have flags in entirely different colors. You can find the emoji version at the Lithuania flag emoji page.

Lithuania flag meaning and symbolism

The colors are linked to the land and its people. The commonly cited meanings are:

• Yellow for the sun and prosperity.
• Green for the forests, the countryside, liberty and hope.
• Red for the blood and bravery of those who died for Lithuania.

The yellow, green and red were frequently used in folk weavings and traditional dress.

History of the Lithuanian flag

The idea of the yellow, green and red tricolor is usually attributed to Lithuanian exiles in the 19th century, and the Great Seimas of Vilnius of 1905 favored it over the Vytis banner. It was adopted on 25 April 1918, during Lithuania's first period of independence. It was used until 1940, when the Soviet Union occupied the country. During the Soviet occupation its use was prohibited, and the Lithuanian SSR flew a red flag with a white and green stripe along the bottom.

As the independence movement grew, the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet recognized the tricolor as the national flag again on 18 November 1988, and the flag was confirmed by the Provisional Constitution of 11 March 1990, when independence was restored. Its proportions were changed in 2004, when a new law fixed the ratio at 3:5 instead of the earlier 1:2. Lithuania joined the EU and NATO that same year.

Why Lithuania has two flags

Besides the tricolor, Lithuania has a historical state flag. It is red with the Vytis, a white knight on a galloping horse holding a sword and shield, the national coat of arms in banner form. The tricolor is the national flag; the Vytis flag is the state (historical) flag, adopted along with the 2004 law and flown at certain official locations and on certain national days.