---
title: "Flag of Norway: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Norway flag stands for, its official 8:11 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/norway/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Norway

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

Ratio 8:11 · current design adopted 1821

*[Flag drawn on the page: Norway]*

Norway's flag is Denmark's with a blue cross laid inside the white one — a design chosen in 1821 while Norway was in union with Sweden and wanted to acknowledge both neighbours. Iceland's flag is the same three colours with red and blue swapped, which is the single most reliable way to tell the two apart. The design contains the flags of six other countries within it if you crop it correctly, a party trick that circulates regularly and is broadly true. Norway used a "herring salad" ensign with the Swedish union mark in the canton until 1899, when parliament removed it after three votes and a royal veto.

## Flags it gets confused with

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

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

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Iceland | The colours are swapped: Iceland has a blue field with a red cross outlined in white. Norway has a red field with a blue cross. |
| Denmark | Denmark is plain red and white, with no blue. |

## 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.*

- **Red** (#BA0C2F) — The field, taken from Denmark
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — The outline, taken from Denmark
- **Blue** (#00205B) — The inner cross, taken from Sweden

- **Ratio:** 8:11
- **Current design adopted:** 1821
- **Colours:** red, white, blue

## Common questions

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

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

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

Red: the field, taken from Denmark. White: the outline, taken from Denmark. Blue: the inner cross, taken from Sweden.

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

The colours are swapped: Iceland has a blue field with a red cross outlined in white. Norway has a red field with a blue cross.

### When was the Norway flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1821, and its official ratio is 8:11.

## Related pages

- [Norway](https://atoneplace.net/country/norway/)
- [The flag of Iceland](https://atoneplace.net/flag/iceland/)
- [The flag of Denmark](https://atoneplace.net/flag/denmark/)
- [Every flag with red in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/red/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of China](https://atoneplace.net/flag/china/)
- [The flag of Germany](https://atoneplace.net/flag/germany/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]