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🇸🇪 The colours of Sweden

6 meanings recorded, 7 colours tied to the country and 2 colour cities.

Sweden’s flag features a yellow cross on a blue background. The blue and yellow colours have been linked to Sweden for centuries, with blue often seen as representing loyalty and truth, and yellow symbolising generosity. The cross shape points to the country’s Christian heritage.

blueLinked to loyalty and truth; part of Sweden’s historic coat of arms
yellowRepresents generosity; also used in royal symbols and the coat of arms

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

  • The flag’s cross is off-centre, closer to the flagpole.
  • Blue and yellow have been Swedish symbols since at least the 13th century.
  • The triple-tailed version is used by the navy and for royal purposes.
  • Official colour shades are set by both NCS and Pantone standards.
  • The flag’s 5:8 ratio is shared by only a few countries.

The colours of the flag of Sweden

The Swedish flag is made up of a yellow cross set on a blue field. The cross is shifted towards the flagpole, following the Nordic tradition. The cross shape is a sign of Christianity, a common feature in the flags of Nordic countries. Blue and yellow are the only colours on the flag. These colours have been tied to Sweden’s identity for many centuries, appearing in royal arms and national emblems. Official meanings for the colours are not set by law, but blue is often linked to qualities like loyalty, while yellow is associated with generosity.

National colours of Sweden

Blue and yellow are Sweden’s national colours and appear not only on the flag but also in royal and state symbols. The royal flag uses the same colours, sometimes with the national coat of arms added. These colours have long been used in Swedish heraldry and are seen as representing the nation in many official settings.

How the colours were chosen of Sweden

Sweden’s blue and yellow colours trace back to medieval royal coats of arms, with blue fields and gold crosses or lions. The current flag design, with its yellow cross, was first recorded in the 16th century, though stories and legends claim it dates back to the 12th century. Over time, blue and yellow became firmly established as national colours, while earlier symbols like silver and red faded from use. The cross design was likely influenced by other Nordic flags, and the exact shades have changed slightly through history.

Official shades and rules of Sweden

Swedish law sets the flag’s blue and yellow shades using the Natural Color System: NCS 4055-R95B for blue and NCS 0580-Y10R for yellow. Pantone codes are also specified for print. The flag’s proportions are fixed, with a 5:8 ratio for the standard flag and detailed measurements for the cross and tails on special flags. The colour scheme should be followed for pennants, though their design is not regulated by law.

Where this page comes from

The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Flag of Sweden", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

What colours mean in Sweden

Customs vary by region, faith and family; these are the meanings most often recorded.

Compare with another country
Red

Country cottages and barns are painted Falu red, a deep red with white trim. The paint is made from the waste of the old copper mine at Falun.

Nature and renewalNostalgiaSource: Falun red
Red

Red is the colour of the Social Democrats, the party that governed for most of the twentieth century. Its symbol is a red rose.

Politics and protestSource: Swedish Social Democratic Party
Orange

The Dala horse, a carved wooden horse from the province of Dalarna, is usually painted a reddish orange with a harness in white, green, yellow and blue. It is sold as a symbol of the country.

Festival and celebrationNostalgiaSource: Dala horse
Blue

The flag is a yellow cross on blue, colours taken from the national arms of three gold crowns on a blue shield. The national teams are called Blagult, the blue-yellows.

Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of Sweden
White

On 13 December, Saint Lucy's Day, a girl in a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles leads a procession of singers in white.

Sacred and holyFestival and celebrationCalmSource: Saint Lucy's Day
White

Students finishing secondary school put on a white cap with a black peak, the studentmossa, and are driven around town on open lorries.

Festival and celebrationJoySource: Student cap

Colour cities of Sweden

🇸🇪 Stockholm's ochre old townGamla StanThe medieval island at the centre of Stockholm, with tall narrow houses in yellow ochre, orange and deep red.🇸🇪 Source of Falu redFalunA Swedish mining town whose copper mine gave the dark red paint seen on wooden houses across the country.
Kiruna 1

Colours tied to Sweden

FamilyRedOrangeYellowGreenTurquoiseBluePurplePinkBrownWhiteGreyBlackGold
KindBasic colourNamed shadePigmentDyeColour named from natureTraditional colourNational or team colourHeraldic colourStandard colourScreen colour
Made fromMineral or earthPlantAnimalSyntheticLight only (no pigment)

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.