India: Flag and Facts
India's flag has three equal horizontal stripes of saffron, white, and green, with a blue 24-spoked wheel, the chakra, in the middle of the white stripe.
- Official name
- Republic of India
- Capital
- New Delhi
- Region
- Southern Asia
- Population
- 1.4 billion (2025)
- Languages
- English, Hindi, Tamil
- Currency
- Indian rupee
- Area
- 3,287,590 km² (1,269,345 sq mi)
- People
- Indian
- Calling code
- +91
- Highest point
- Kanchenjunga 8,586 m
- Independence
- 15 August 1947 (from the UK)
- National symbols
- the Lion Capital of Ashoka, which depicts four Asiatic lions standing back-to-back and mounted on a circular abacus (official)
About India
Each color carries a meaning. Saffron stands for courage and sacrifice, white for truth and purity, and green for faith and fertility. The wheel at the center stands for life in motion, while standing still means death. The country's official emblem is the Lion Capital of Ashoka, showing four lions back to back.
History here runs deep. The Indus Valley civilization reached into the northwest of the subcontinent between roughly the 3rd and the 2nd millennium B.C., and it ranks among the oldest civilizations. The Maurya Empire later joined much of South Asia together, and the Gupta dynasty brought a golden age of science and art. The Mughal Dynasty, founded by Babur in the early 1500s, held large parts of the land for over three centuries. British power followed, and nonviolent resistance led by Gandhi and Nehru won independence on 15 August 1947. Today the Himalayas rise in the north, deserts spread in the west, and the Deccan Plateau fills the south.
Did you know?
- Kanchenjunga, at 8,586 m, is the highest point inside India.
- Republic Day is celebrated every 26 January, marking the date in 1950 the republic began.
- New Delhi's metro area held about 32.9 million people in 2023, ahead of Mumbai with 21.3 million.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about India
What is the population of India?
India had about 1.4 billion people in 2025, an estimate of 1,419,316,933 people.
What are the traditional national symbols of India?
The Bengal tiger and the lotus flower are traditional symbols, alongside the official Lion Capital of Ashoka.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.