Flag of Norway

What the flag looks like

A red field with a blue Nordic cross edged in white, its vertical arm shifted towards the hoist.

What it means

Red, white and blue echo the flags of France, the United States and the United Kingdom as symbols of liberty; the cross shape comes from Denmark's flag.

How to remember it

Norway is Denmark's white cross with a blue cross laid inside it; Iceland uses the same three colors with red and blue swapped.

Fun facts

• The flag was designed by Fredrik Meltzer and adopted in 1821, while Norway was in union with Sweden.
• It has been called 'the mother of all flags' because the patterns of several other flags, such as France's and the Netherlands', can be found within it.

Norway at a glance

Capital

Oslo

Region

Northern Europe

Population

5.6 million

Area

323,802 km²

Languages

Norwegian Nynorsk, Norwegian Bokmål, Sami

Currency

Norwegian krone (kr)

Flag adopted

1821

Flags often confused with Norway

• Iceland: Iceland and Norway share the same off-center Nordic cross with a white border. Iceland is a blue flag with a red cross; Norway is a red flag with a blue cross.
• Denmark: Denmark and Norway both have an off-center cross on red. Denmark's cross is plain white; Norway's is blue with a white border.