Sweden

Specification

The Flag Act describes a blue flag with a yellow cross set at right angles to the edges. For the rectangular form, each hoist field is four units high and five units long; each fly field is four units high and nine units long. The cross arms are two units wide.

Reference colors

Construction notes

Start with a 10-by-16 rectangle. Place the two-unit cross after five units from the hoist and four units from the upper edge. The Flag Act also defines a three-tailed form, but the rectangular flag is the general national form and the specimen recorded here.

Historical record

Sweden has used blue flags with yellow crosses for centuries. The present rectangular national form dates from 1906, after the dissolution of the union with Norway. The current Flag Act was issued in 1982 and entered into force in 1983, preserving the 10:16 construction while regulating the modern color specification.

Source trail

Swedish Parliament: Flag Act 1982:269 ↗

Sections 1–3 describe the design, proportions, and colors; section 4 distinguishes use of the rectangular and three-tailed forms.

Understanding the construction

For the rectangular flag, 10:16 means height to length; this clarifies the imported “Hoist : fly” label. The yellow Nordic cross extends across the blue field, with its upright arm nearer the hoist—the edge attached to the pole—than the fly, the opposite free edge. The divisions derived from section 2 are 4:2:4 from top to bottom and 5:2:9 from hoist to fly. Each sequence describes blue field, yellow cross arm, then blue field. Flag Act, sections 1–2.

Screen colors and official specifications

The imported record identifies #005293 and #FECB00 as the existing artwork’s screen values. They should not be treated as statutory hexadecimal values or manufacturing tolerances. Section 3 describes light medium-blue fields and a golden-yellow cross, delegating detailed shade rules to the government or its designated authority. Keep those legal descriptions, the artwork’s screen rendering and any future separately sourced manufacturing guidance distinct. Flag Act, section 3.

Dates and the limits of the evidence

The imported record gives 22 June 1906 as the current-form date and states that the 1982 Act commenced in 1983. These remain imported historical claims: the linked consolidated text does not establish either date. Its metadata confirms 29 April 1982 as the Act’s issue date, which is distinct from commencement. Further historical detail requires supporting evidence. Flag Act metadata.