Country flag
Iceland Flag
Iceland’s national flag is a blue Nordic-cross flag with a white cross enclosing a narrower red cross. Its legal specification fixes the cross proportio...
Where is Iceland?
The highlighted area marks the country on the world map.
Zoomed location
This country is small on the world map, so this inset shows nearby countries for context.
About Iceland and its flag
Iceland’s national flag is a blue Nordic-cross flag with a white cross enclosing a narrower red cross. Its legal specification fixes the cross proportions, the 18:25 overall ratio, and the geometry of the blue panels; a separate 2016 notice sets standard colour references for physical and digital reproduction.
Flag design and meaning
The law specifies a sky-blue field, a snow-white cross, and a fire-red cross inside the white one. Both crosses reach the edges. The white cross is two ninths of the flag’s width and the red cross one ninth; the flag’s width-to-length ratio is 18:25.
- Blue, white and red colour scheme: A recorded 1906 explanation of the proposed design associated the colours with mountain blue, ice and fire. The University of Iceland account also notes that blue has received differing interpretations, so these are historical associations rather than legal definitions.
History and adoption
A University of Iceland historical account reports that a flag of this design was flown on 1 December 1918, although its blue was lighter until 1944. Act No. 34 is dated 17 June 1944 but took effect on 24 August, so neither date alone represents the design’s full history.
How to recognise this flag
- Look for a narrow red cross nested inside a wider white cross on a blue field.
- Check the rectangular 18:25 format and the Nordic cross placed toward the hoist; the fly-side blue panels are twice the length of the hoist-side panels.
Iceland flag quiz context
On Name The Flag, the Iceland flag is currently grouped as medium difficulty for quiz progression.
Players may also want to compare it with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, which can appear as plausible flag distractors.
Explore more country flags
Compare Iceland with other flags from the quiz.
