Norway Flag

How to identify it

A blue cross outlined in white on a red field. Iceland also uses a three-colour Nordic cross, but its field is blue and its inner cross is red; Norway reverses those two colours.

Design and construction

Adoption and legal status

The present red, white and blue cross design dates from 1821; the flag law of 1898 entered into force in 1899.

History of the design

The civil flag is constructed on a 16 by 22 unit grid. Its blue cross is bordered in white, unlike Iceland’s red cross bordered in white.

Similar flags

Compare the details that separate these designs.

• 
  Iceland

  Iceland has a blue field and red inner cross; Norway swaps those colours, using a red field and blue inner cross.

Sources