Iceland
Shape
Europe · Northern Europe
Outline not to scale
About the flag
Iceland's flag is blue with a red Nordic cross edged in white. The colours are often explained as the blue of the sky and mountains, the white of ice and snow, and the red of the island's volcanic fire. The design dates from 1915 and became the flag of the independent republic in 1944.
Often confused with
The Faroe Islands' flag is white with a red cross edged in blue. A blue background means Iceland.
Norway uses the same three colours the other way round: a blue cross edged in white on a red background. Blue background means Iceland.
Only the names are similar: Ireland's flag is a green, white and orange vertical tricolour.
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