Flags of Mongolia

The Mongolian flag is divided into three equal vertical stripes. The two stripes at both edges are red while the middle one is blue. As in most flags from other nations, the blue color in the Mongolian flag stands for the sky. The two red stripes, on the other hand, stands for liberty and progress. The most noticeable feature of the Mongolian flag is the "soyombo," the country's national emblem, which is placed on the leftmost stripe. The soyombo is an abstract symbol that represents fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol. It was made national symbol by the first People's Great Khural in 1924.

The elements of the soyombo alone are rich in meaning and symbolisms. Fire symbolizes prosperity, regeneration and contentment and its three flames allude to the past, present and future. The sun and the moon are represented because Mongolians believe that the two are the mother and father, respectively, of their nation. The horizontal pillars stand for honesty, justice and righteousness while the vertical bars represent strength, resolve and hardness. Finally, the circle in the middle of the soyombo represents the yin and yang, the popular Buddhist symbol which represents unity and of opposite forces working together.