Record / FI-NAT-1918

Finland

Suomen lippu / Finlands flagga

NationalEuropeNordic crossStatutory geometry
Flag of Finland
Wikimedia Commons asset / statutory ratio 11:18
Quick answer

Finland’s national flag is an 11:18 white rectangle with a blue Nordic cross three units wide. Its fields divide 4:3:4 vertically and 5:3:10 horizontally.

Specification

The 1978 Flag Act defines a blue cross on a white field and distinguishes the plain national flag from the state flag bearing the coat of arms. The rectangular national flag shown here is available for general use and also serves, with specified exceptions, as the national ensign of Finnish vessels.

Hoist : fly11 : 18
Vertical divisions4 : 3 : 4
Horizontal divisions5 : 3 : 10
Cross width3 units

Reference colors

BlueHEX #002F6C / asset screen value; PMS 294 C official approximation
WhiteHEX #FFFFFF / RGB 255, 255, 255

Construction notes

On an 11-by-18 grid, place the three-unit cross after five units from the hoist and four units from the upper edge. The fly fields are ten units long. The 1993 government color decision defines the blue through measured CIE values and permits PMS 294 C as an approximate model color.

Historical record

The blue-cross flag was made official by law on 29 May 1918, shortly after independence. The current Flag Act was enacted in 1978 and retained the national flag’s established white field and blue Nordic cross while setting exact dimensions.

Source trail

Finlex: Act on the Flag of Finland 380/1978 ↗

Finlex: Government decision on flag colors 827/1993 ↗

ThisisFINLAND: flag history and dimensions ↗

Official color standards and screen values

The 1993 government color decision defines blue through measured CIE values and permits PMS 294 C as an approximate model color. The imported record identifies HEX #002F6C as the recorded artwork’s screen value; #FFFFFF represents white on screen. These display values are not certified manufacturing specifications, and PMS 294 C remains an approximation to the measured standard.

Construction of the plain national flag. Hoist means the edge nearest the flagpole; fly means the opposite edge. All measurements use the same unit.
Measurement or directionUnits or divisionsHow to interpret
Overall rectangle11 units high × 18 units longHeight-to-length proportions are 11:18 (hoist:fly).
Top-to-bottom divisions4:3:4Four units above the horizontal blue arm, three units for the arm, and four units below it.
Hoist-to-fly divisions5:3:10Five units from the hoist to the vertical blue arm, three units for the arm, and ten units from the arm to the fly.
Cross width3 unitsBoth blue arms are three units wide in the eleven-unit-high, eighteen-unit-long rectangle.