Bhutan’s national flag shows a white dragon on a yellow and orange background.
The dragon is Druk, the Thunder Dragon of Bhutanese mythology and the country’s national symbol. It holds jewels in its claws, representing wealth and prosperity, while its snarling expression symbolizes the strength of the people and the protection of the nation. The dragon faces away from the hoist in the official design.
The yellow upper half represents the authority of the secular government and the orange lower half represents Buddhist spiritual tradition. The diagonal division gives the flag a distinctive appearance and emphasizes the relationship between those two aspects of Bhutanese life.
Bhutan is commonly called Druk Yul, meaning “Land of the Thunder Dragon.” The flag’s dragon is white to represent purity and loyalty. Although Wales also has a dragon on its flag, the Welsh dragon is red and appears on a green-and-white field, making the two designs easy to distinguish.