The invention relates to an electrodeless high frequency gas discharge lamp according to the induction principle that, as a result of its design and construction, shows particularly low electromagnetic interference with a simultaneous increase in light efficiency. The gas discharge lamp according to the invention owes these advantageous properties on the one hand to the high coupling factor between the discharge current and the exciting current and, on the other hand, to the essentially homogeneous field conditions in the discharge vessel, which has been achieved by designing the discharge vessel to take the form of a hollow cylindrical ring which is seated directly over the exciter winding that extends over the entire length of the discharge vessel on a fully-closed, highly-permeable ferrite core.