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Maldives

Divehi - Republic of Maldives, Divehi Jumhuriyya

Last modified: 2003-01-18 by ivan sache
Keywords: maldives | divehi | asia | crescent (white) | war flag | naval ensign |
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Maldivesby Zeljko Heimer

Flag adopted 25 July 1965, coat of arms adopted in 1965.
Proportion: 2:3
Description: A red flag with a green rectangle panel in the middle, charged with a white crescent pointing towards the fly
Use: on land, national and civil flag, at sea, national and civil ensign.

Colour approximate specifications (as given in Album des Pavillons [pay00]):

  • Red: Pantone 186 c / CMYK (%) C 0 - M 90 - Y 80 - K 5
  • Green: Pantone 348c / CMYK (%) C 100 - M 0 - Y 80 - K 25

On this page:

See also:

Origin of the flag

The flag of the Maldives was originally a plain red flag. Later, a band of black and white stripes were placed in the hoist.

By the early part of this century, Prime Minister Amir Abdul Majid Didi had introduced the green panel and white crescent to the flags of the Maldives. Until 1949, the horns of the crescent would point towards the hoist.

Upon the independence of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1949, the Maldives were a separate administrative entity. A Republic was established from 1953 until 1954. At that time, the Maldives had a reorganization of their flag structure. Primarily, the crescent was turned to face the fly and the Government service flag became the national flag. In 1954, the Sultan was reinstated and there were no changes to Maldivian flags. These flags continued to be used through independence in 1965.

Three years after independence, the Sultanate was removed and a Republic was instated again. The current national and presidential flags were introduced officially on 26 July 1968.

Sources: Crampton [cra90].

Calvin Paige Herring, 2 June 1998

Meaning of the national symbols

  • National flag
    • Green represents the innumerable palm trees, the life source of the island.
    • Red represents the blood of the nation's heroes in sacrifice.
    • The white crescent is the symbol of Islamic faith.
  • National emblem (used on government documents): A crescent, a star, a coconut palm, two national flags and a scroll with the traditional title of the state Al Dawlat al Mahaldeebiyya.
  • National tree (established in 1985): The coconut palm.
  • National flower (established in 1985): The pink rose.

Source: Maldives Tourism Promotion Board website.

Ivan Sache, 23 July 2001

War flag

Maldivian war flagby Zeljko Heimer

The blue-white-green tricolour is the war flag of the Maldives, used on land. Considering how much land there is in the Maldives, it is no wonder the flag is so little known! Smith [smi75c] gives the proportions as approximately 3:5.

Zeljko Heimer, 15 March 1996.

Naval ensign

While recently looking through E.M.C. Barraclough's Flags of the World [bar] I noticed the following comment in relation to the Maldives:

The Ensign is like the National Flag but with a star instead of a crescent.

None of the more recent publications which I have refer to this flag, and Smith [smi80] indicates that the naval ensign is the same as the national flag.

Vincent Morley, 21 May 1997