The Flag of Finland hearkens back to the beginning of the 20th century, and is modelled on the Danish flag, the Dannebrog.

The symbolic colours of Finland are blue and white. Blue represents lakes and sky, and white respresents snow and the white nights of the Finnish summer. The national flag of Finland (siniristilippu, a flag with blue cross) is rectangle-shaped. There is a blue cross on a white background. The state flag has a coat of arms in the center, but is otherwise the same.

By Finnish law, the flag must not be dirty or damaged. It must not be defaced or otherwise decorated. When the flag is washed, it must be dried indoors. The flag must be respected and must not be buried in the ground or used to other purpose.

• According to Finnish law , the dimensions of the flag are 11/18 (height/width). The cusp width of the blue cross is 3 units of measure.

When flown from a flagpole, the flag is recommended to have a width equalling a fourth of the height of the pole.

The colours of the flag of Finland

PMS-colour system: Blue 294C, Red 186C, Yellow 123C

CMYK-tones:

• Blue C 100 %, M 56 %, Y 0 %, K 18,5 %
• Red C 0 %, M 91 %, Y 76 %, K 6 %
• Yellow C 0 %, M 30,5 %, Y 94 %, K 0 %

Red and yellow are being used in the State flag, that carries a coat of arms in the middle. The PMS-colours are specified in Government decision 827/93, see http://finlex4.edita.fi/dynaweb/stp/stp/1993sd/@ebt-link?showtoc=false;target=IDMATCH(id,19930827.sd)

See also: Flag days in Finland, Holidays in Finland, National anthem of Finland

National flags

List of national flags | Gallery of national flags

List of national coats of arms