Maldives Flag

The Flag of the Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ދިދަ, romanized: Dhivehi Raajjeyge dhidha) is green with a red border. The center bears a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the raising side of the flag. It was adopted on 25 July 1965.

The red rectangle represents the blood of the nation's heroes, and their willingness to sacrifice their every drop of blood in defense of their country. The green rectangle in the center symbolizes peace and prosperity. The white crescent moon symbolizes Islam, the state religion of the country.

The earliest flag of the Maldives consisted of a plain red field. Later, a black and white striped hoist called the Dhandimathi (Dhivehi: ދަނޑިމަތި) was added to the flag.

This version of the flag was used until early in the 20th century when Abdul Majeed Didi added a crescent to the national flag. At the same time, a distinct state flag was made, which had the crescent on a green rectangle. These changes were made sometime between 1926 and 1932, during Abdul Majeed's term as prime minister.