The flag of Sweden dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to be inspired by the Coats of Arms of Sweden, which feature three yellow crowns on a blue background, and modelled on the Danish flag, the Dannebrog. King John III took the form of the current Swedish flag into use in 1569. Prior to this, a similar flag appeared in the Coat of Arms of John's duchy, which is today southwest Finland.
- According to Swedish law 1982:269, the dimensions of the flag are 10/16 (height/width), the inner blue fields having 4/5 and the outer blue fields 4/9 (height/width). The yellow cross has a thickness equivalent to half the height of an individual blue field.
- According to Swedish law 1983:826, the colours used are established through the NCS to be: Yellow - NCS 0580-Y10R, blue - NCS 4055-R95B.
When used from a standalone flagpole, the size of the flag is recommended to have a width equalling a fourth of the height of the pole. When used from a flagpole extending from a building the flag is recommended to have a width equalling a third of the height (length) of the pole.
The war flag and ensign is a triple swallow-tail of proportions 1:2.
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