---
title: "Flag of Switzerland: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Switzerland flag stands for, its official 1:1 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/switzerland/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Switzerland

**The flag of Switzerland: A square red field with a bold equilateral white cross at the centre that does not reach the edges.**

Ratio 1:1 · current design adopted 1889

*[Flag drawn on the page: Switzerland]*

It is one of only two square national flags, along with the Vatican's, and the squareness is the part people get wrong: the rectangular version everyone has seen is the Swiss maritime ensign at 2:3, legal only at sea. The cross arms are one-sixth longer than they are wide, a proportion fixed by federal resolution in 1889 and restated in the 2017 coat of arms act. The Red Cross emblem is this flag with the colours reversed, adopted in 1863 as an honour to Switzerland, which is why the two are so often mistaken for each other. Switzerland also lacks an official hex value; the government's design manual specifies Pantone 485.

## Flags it gets confused with

*[Flag drawn on the page: Switzerland, 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 |
| --- | --- |
| Denmark | Denmark's cross is offset toward the hoist and reaches all four edges; Switzerland's is centred and floats. |
| The Red Cross emblem | Same shape, inverted colours — a red cross on white. It is not a flag of any country. |

## 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** (#FF0000) — The field; the colour has no assigned meaning in Swiss law
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — The cross, a Christian emblem carried by Swiss troops from the 14th century

- **Ratio:** 1:1
- **Current design adopted:** 1889
- **Colours:** red, white

> The federal specification names Pantone 485. #FF0000 is the value in the Confederation's own web design manual; #DA291C and #D52B1E are the commonest print conversions and look noticeably darker.

## Common questions

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

A square red field with a bold equilateral white cross at the centre that does not reach the edges.

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

Red: the field; the colour has no assigned meaning in Swiss law. White: the cross, a Christian emblem carried by Swiss troops from the 14th century.

### How do you tell the Switzerland flag from the Denmark one?

Denmark's cross is offset toward the hoist and reaches all four edges; Switzerland's is centred and floats.

### When was the Switzerland flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1889, and its official ratio is 1:1.

## Related pages

- [Switzerland](https://atoneplace.net/country/switzerland/)
- [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

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)