🇬🇱 The colours of Greenland

Greenland's flag uses red and white, matching Denmark's colours, to reflect its ties to the Danish realm. The white stands for the island's vast ice cap and glaciers, while the red symbolises the surrounding ocean and the sun, as described by the flag's designer.

Where no official value is given, the swatch shows the colour family, not the exact shade.

The colours of the flag of Greenland

The flag of Greenland is split into two equal horizontal bands: white on top and red below. A disc, divided into red and white halves, sits slightly toward the flagpole. According to the designer, the white stripe represents Greenland's glaciers and ice cap, which cover most of the island. The red stripe stands for the ocean. The red semicircle in the disc symbolises the sun, partly submerged in the sea, while the white semicircle stands for icebergs and pack ice. The flag's colours are the same as Denmark's, reflecting Greenland's political ties. These meanings come from the flag's creator and are not stated as official by the government.

How the colours were chosen of Greenland

Greenland considered several flag designs from the 1970s, including green, white, and blue options and many with the Nordic cross. The current red-and-white flag, designed by Thue Christiansen, was chosen in 1985 after a close vote against a green-and-white cross design. The colours were selected to match those of Denmark, highlighting Greenland's place within the Danish kingdom. The disc motif is unique among Nordic flags, which usually feature a cross.

Official shades and rules of Greenland

The flag's proportions are 18 units wide by 12 high. Each horizontal band is six units tall. The disc is eight units in diameter, offset seven units from the hoist to its centre and vertically centred. No official colour codes are given in the sources.