The white disc on Laos’s flag has a diameter equal to four-fifths of the blue stripe’s height.
Laos’s national flag is a horizontal red-blue-red triband. The central blue stripe is twice as tall as either red stripe, and the white disc is carefully sized within it rather than made equal to the stripe’s full height. The flag’s proportions are 2:3.
The design was created in 1945 by Lao intellectual Maha Sila Viravong and was first used by the Lao Issara movement. It became the national flag again when the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was established in 1975. The disc is commonly described as the full moon over the Mekong, while also symbolising Lao unity.
A frequent mix-up comes from simplified diagrams or informal descriptions that make the disc look as tall as the blue band. The official construction specification gives the more precise fraction: four-fifths.