Iceland Flag: Meaning, Colors, History & Facts
Iceland’s national flag has a blue field with a red Nordic cross outlined in white. The design was approved in 1915, represented a sovereign Iceland from 1918 and was confirmed by flag law when the republic was founded in 1944.
What does the Iceland flag look like?
The flag has a blue field with a Nordic cross shifted toward the hoist. The cross is red with a white border.
What are the official colors called?
Icelandic law uses the descriptive terms sky blue, snow white and fire red.
What do the colors mean?
The law defines the colors and construction rather than prescribing one legal symbolic meaning. Traditional explanations connect blue with sea and sky, white with snow and glaciers and red with volcanic fire.
Why does Iceland use a Nordic cross?
The cross places Iceland within the broader Nordic flag family while the blue field and red-white cross create a distinctive national combination.
Explore the Nordic cross and colors →
When was the flag approved?
The modern flag received royal approval in 1915.
What changed in 1918?
When Iceland became a free and sovereign state in personal union with Denmark, the existing flag became the sovereign state’s national flag.
What happened in 1944?
Iceland became a republic on June 17, 1944, and national flag legislation was among the first laws enacted under the new republican Constitution.
Read the Iceland flag history →
How can you identify it?
Iceland uses blue as the field, unlike Norway’s red field. Both have a red/blue cross combination outlined in white, but the dominant background color makes them easy to separate.
Iceland flag facts
| Field | Blue |
|---|---|
| Cross | Red outlined in white |
| Style | Nordic cross |
| Royal approval | 1915 |
| Sovereign-state flag | 1918 |
| Republican flag law | 1944 |
