Flag of Finland

Flag of Finland

Construction sheet: Flag of Finland
Construction sheet

Description

  • A blue Nordic cross on a white field, adopted shortly after Finnish independence
  • The colours reflect the contrast between blue lakes and white winter landscapes
  • Official colour standards were defined in 1995 in CIE 1931 and CIE 1976 systems
  • Construction: a blue Nordic cross on a white field
  • The cross is offset toward the hoist
  • The vertical arm divides the flag in the ratio 5:3 horizontally
  • The cross arm width is 3/11 of the flag's height
  • Official ratio 11:18

Trivia

  • The cross follows the Nordic tradition but the shade of blue has no official Pantone — it's defined by law as 'sea blue'
  • The blue represents the thousands of lakes and seas of Finland
  • Adopted in 1918 upon independence from Russia; Finland was the last Nordic nation to adopt a national flag

Flag of Finland

The blue-crossed flag, or siniristilippu, originated with the Helsinki yacht club in 1861 before becoming Finland's official symbol following independence from the Russian Empire. The design was officially adopted on 28 May 1918.

The symbolic colours were described by author Zacharias Topelius in 1863 as "the blue of our lakes and the white snow of our winters," capturing Finland's natural landscape. The blue represents the nation's thousands of lakes, while white symbolizes the winter snow. The Nordic cross represents Christian tradition, connecting Finland to the broader Scandinavian community. Notably, blue was chosen partly to avoid red, which was associated with civil conflict.

json:data 
{
  "g": "europe,nordic",
  "ns": "finland",
  "name": "Finland",
  "id": "finland",
  "index": "c/finland",
  "title": "Flag of Finland",
  "ratio": "11:18",
  "use": {
    "as": "national flag",
    "since": "1918-05-29"
  },
  "of": {
    "country": "finland"
  },
  "countryData": {
    "name": "Finland",
    "officialName": "Republic of Finland",
    "un": "member"
  },
  "colors": [
    {
      "color": "blue",
      "hex": "#002F6C",
      "cmyk": "100/55/0/15",
      "pantone": "294 C",
      "officialSpec": "NCS 4060-R90B",
      "note": "Called 'sea blue'; represents Finland's lakes and northern sky"
    },
    {
      "color": "white",
      "hex": "#FFFFFF",
      "cmyk": "0/0/0/0",
      "note": "Symbolizes the winter snow"
    }
  ],
  "desc": "- A blue Nordic cross on a white field, adopted shortly after Finnish independence\n - The colours reflect the contrast between blue lakes and white winter landscapes\n - Official colour standards were defined in 1995 in CIE 1931 and CIE 1976 systems\n - **Construction:** a blue Nordic cross on a white field\n - The cross is offset toward the hoist\n - The vertical arm divides the flag in the ratio 5:3 horizontally\n - The cross arm width is 3/11 of the flag's height\n - Official ratio 11:18",
  "article": "finland/flag.md",
  "cs": "finland/flag.cs.svg",
  "trivia": "- The cross follows the Nordic tradition but the shade of blue has no official Pantone — it's defined by law as 'sea blue'\n - The blue represents the thousands of lakes and seas of Finland\n - Adopted in 1918 upon independence from Russia; Finland was the last Nordic nation to adopt a national flag",
  "flag": "finland/flag.svg",
  "_name": "Finland",
  "_namespace": "finland",
  "_namePart": ""
}
Prev Index Next