Country flag
Finland Flag
Finland's national flag is a clear blue Nordic cross on a white field. Its restrained design belongs to the wider family of Nordic cross flags, but the...
Where is Finland?
The highlighted area marks the country on the world map.
About Finland and its flag
Finland's national flag is a clear blue Nordic cross on a white field. Its restrained design belongs to the wider family of Nordic cross flags, but the bright white background and single blue cross make Finland immediately recognisable. Finland has both civil and state forms of the flag.
Flag design and meaning
A medium blue Nordic cross extends to all four edges of a white rectangular field. The cross is shifted towards the hoist, following the usual Nordic layout. Official specifications distinguish the civil flag from the state flag while retaining the same blue-and-white cross design.
- Blue and white colours: A poetic association recorded in connection with Zacharias Topelius's 1863 writing links blue with lakes and white with snow; this is a cultural image rather than a binding legal interpretation.
History and adoption
Finland's flag became official by law on 29 May 1918. The law established the blue cross on white as the national design and set out the use of separate civil and state forms. Official specifications continue to govern its proportions and colours.
How to recognise this flag
- Identify Finland by its simple blue Nordic cross on a clean white field.
- Compared with Sweden's flag, Finland uses a white background rather than blue and has no yellow cross.
Finland flag quiz context
On Name The Flag, the Finland flag is currently grouped as easy difficulty for quiz progression.
Players may also want to compare it with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, which can appear as plausible flag distractors.
Explore more country flags
Compare Finland with other flags from the quiz.
