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| Thong dwang deaen (the white moon flag) Sam si (tricolour) | |
| Use | National flag and ensign   |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 12 October 1945; 2 December 1975 (re-adopted) |
| Design | A horizontal triband of red, blue (double height) and red; charged with a white circle in the centre (the diameter of white circle is four-fifths the height of blue band) |
| Designed by | Maha Sila Viravong |
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The flag of Laos (ທຸງຊາດລາວ thungsad Lāo) consists of three horizontal stripes, with the middle stripe in blue being twice the height of the top and bottom red stripes. In the middle is a white disc, the diameter of the disc is 4⁄5 the height of the blue stripe. The flag ratio is 2:3.
The flag was first adopted in 1945 under the short-lived Lao Issara government of 1945–46, then by the Pathet Lao. It is one of the two flags of a country currently governed by a communist party (the other being Cuba) that currently does not use any communist symbolism. The current flag was adopted on December 2, 1975, when it became a socialist state. The royal flag before 1975 remains in use by a number of Laotian diaspora.