Flag of Sweden

What the flag means

• ✚Yellow cross — Christianity (the Nordic cross)
• 🔵Blue and yellow — taken from the national coat of arms

Design set by: ⁨Lag (1982:269) om Sveriges flagga, 1 §⁩ · Adopted 1906

Highlights

• 🛋️ IKEA and practical design
• 🎵 ABBA and great pop music
• 🌌 Pure nature and northern lights
• ♻️ A leader in welfare and ecology
• 🏆 The land of the Nobel Prize

Quick facts

Region

Europe · Northern Europe

Population

10,596,620 people (2025)

Area

450,295 km²

Capital

Stockholm

Languages

Swedish, English

Currency

Swedish krona (SEK)

Organizations

United Nations, European Union, NATO, OECD

Neighboring countries

• Finland
• Norway

Land neighbors, approximated from simplified map outlines.

Symbols in History (1)

Coats of arms and emblems whose historic seat lies within this country’s present-day territory.

• 

  Greater arms of the Kingdom of Sweden, current version

  Sweden · c. 970–present · Current greater arms of the kingdom

  OriginThe Swedish greater arms combine the three crowns, the Folkung lion quarters, and a central dynastic inescutcheon.

  DescriptionOn a shield quartered by a gold cross, two blue quarters set diagonally opposite each other each bear three gold crowns, while the other two show a crowned gold lion rearing on a blue field crossed diagonally by white wavy bands. The small dynastic shield in the centre is divided vertically: one half holds a gold Vasa device shaped like a jar with handles, the other has, on blue, a cluster of small gold stars, a gold eagle, and below it a white two-towered bridge over water. Two crowned gold lions support the shield at either side and the collar of the Order of the Seraphim surrounds it, a crown sits above, and a crimson mantle lined with white ermine spreads behind.

  Source: Lag (1982:268) om Sveriges riksvapen · Sveriges riksdag (Justitiedepartementet) · Image source: Wikimedia Commons — Great coat of arms of Sweden.svg