---
title: "Flag of Iceland: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Iceland flag stands for, its official 18:25 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/iceland/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Iceland

**The flag of Iceland: A blue field with a red Nordic cross outlined in white, offset toward the hoist.**

Ratio 18:25 · current design adopted 1944

*[Flag drawn on the page: Iceland]*

Fire, ice and mountains — one of the few flags whose colour symbolism is genuinely about the landscape rather than heraldry, and it is stated in Icelandic law. The design was approved for use in 1915 and became the flag of the independent republic in 1944. It is Norway's flag with red and blue exchanged, which is not accidental: both derive from Denmark's Dannebrog, and Iceland was Danish territory when the design was chosen. Icelandic flag law is unusually strict about the flag touching the ground and about the hours it may be flown, and it sets an odd 18:25 ratio that almost no other country uses.

## Flags it gets confused with

*[Flag drawn on the page: Iceland, Norway]*

*Drawn at each flag’s own official ratio, which is itself the difference in some of these pairs.*

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Norway | Colours swapped — Norway is a red field with a blue cross; Iceland is a blue field with a red cross. |

## What the colours mean

*Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.*

- **Blue** (#02529C) — The mountains and the sea
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Ice and snow
- **Red** (#DC1E35) — The island's volcanic fire

- **Ratio:** 18:25
- **Current design adopted:** 1944
- **Colours:** blue, white, red

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Iceland look like?

A blue field with a red Nordic cross outlined in white, offset toward the hoist.

### What do the colours of the Iceland flag mean?

Blue: the mountains and the sea. White: ice and snow. Red: the island's volcanic fire.

### How do you tell the Iceland flag from the Norway one?

Colours swapped — Norway is a red field with a blue cross; Iceland is a blue field with a red cross.

### When was the Iceland flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1944, and its official ratio is 18:25.

## Related pages

- [Iceland](https://atoneplace.net/country/iceland/)
- [The flag of Norway](https://atoneplace.net/flag/norway/)
- [Every flag with blue in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/blue/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [The flag of India](https://atoneplace.net/flag/india/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Brazil](https://atoneplace.net/flag/brazil/)
- [The flag of Australia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/australia/)
- [The flag of South Korea](https://atoneplace.net/flag/south-korea/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)