Europe

Flag of Norway

Norway is a Nordic country occupying the western part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, famous for its dramatic fjords, the aurora borealis, the midnight sun, and a remarkably high standard of living. The country manages one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, generated from its offshore oil and gas revenues. Norway has a strong tradition of international peacekeeping and humanitarian aid and consistently ranks among the best countries in the world for human development.

CapitalOslo
RegionEurope
Current flag since1821
Main coloursRed, White, Blue
Populationabout 5.5 million
Areaabout 324,000 km²
Flags in history3

Population and area are rounded.

What the flag of Norway means

Norway's flag was designed by Fredrik Meltzer and adopted by parliament in 1821. It places a blue cross inside the white cross of Denmark's flag, and the red, white and blue were chosen as colours of liberty, associated at the time with France, the United States and Britain. Between 1844 and 1899 it carried a union mark for the union with Sweden in its canton.

How to recognise it

Red with a blue-bordered white Nordic cross offset left. Iceland swaps colours: blue with red-bordered white.

Did you know?

Norway's sovereign wealth fund is the largest in the world at over $1.4 trillion.

Easily confused with

Norway's flag is often mixed up with these. Learn to tell them apart:

Iceland

Denmark

Sweden

Flag history of Norway

Every flag that has flown over Norway, from today back through time.

1821–present

Norwegian Flag (Meltzer design)

Designed by merchant and politician Fredrik Meltzer, this flag cleverly incorporated the three colours of the French Tricolore (associated with liberty) into a Nordic cross — blue within white within red. The design was adopted by the Norwegian Storting in 1821, though Norway was in union with Sweden and the flag was slow to gain official recognition abroad.

1814–1821

First Norwegian Flag (Eidsvoll)

When Norway's constitution was signed at Eidsvoll in May 1814, the country briefly gained independence before entering a union with Sweden. This first flag — a red field with a simple white cross — was used during that brief window and inspired the later, more distinctive design.

1524–1814

Denmark–Norway

For nearly three centuries Norway was the junior partner in the kingdom of Denmark–Norway, ruled from Copenhagen and flying the Danish Dannebrog. When Denmark backed Napoleon and lost, Norway was handed to Sweden in 1814 — but not before Norwegians seized the moment to write their own constitution, the seed of the independence finally won in 1905.

Related historical states

Empires, kingdoms and republics that once covered part of Norway.

1397–1523

Kalmar Union

The dynastic union that joined Denmark, Sweden, and Norway under a single monarch for over a century, until Gustav Vasa led Sweden to break away in 1523.