Norway: Flag and Facts
Norway's flag puts a white-trimmed blue cross on a red field, running to every edge and set off center toward the hoist like the Danish flag.
- Official name
- Kingdom of Norway
- Capital
- Oslo
- Region
- Northern Europe
- Population
- 5.5 million (2024)
- Languages
- Norwegian Nynorsk, Norwegian Bokmål, Sami
- Currency
- Norwegian krone
- Area
- 323,802 km² (125,021 sq mi)
- People
- Norwegian
- Calling code
- +47
- Highest point
- Galdhopiggen 2,469 m
- Independence
- 7 June 1905 (union with Sweden declared dissolved)
- National symbols
- lion
About Norway
Each color is a nod to an old partner. Red and white recall the long union with Denmark, and blue recalls the one with Sweden. The national colors match the flag exactly, and Norwegians use a lion as their emblem.
Viking raids faded after King Olav Tryggvason became a Christian in 994. In 1397 Norway joined a union with Denmark that ran more than four centuries. When it was handed to Sweden in 1814, Norwegians wrote their own constitution, and Sweden let them keep it under a Swedish king. A 1905 vote finally brought independence. Germany occupied the country for five years (1940-45) despite its neutrality, and in 1949 Norway joined NATO. Oil and gas found offshore in the late 1960s changed its fortunes, yet voters said no to the EU in 1972 and again in 1994. Fjords carve deep into the coast, and arctic tundra covers the far north.
Did you know?
- Norway celebrates Constitution Day on 17 May, honoring the constitution of 1814.
- Galdhopiggen, the tallest mountain in Norway, stands 2,469 meters high.
- Norway has three official language forms: Nynorsk, Bokmal, and Sami.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about Norway
What is the capital of Norway?
Oslo, a city of roughly 1.1 million.
What currency does Norway use?
Norway uses the krone, shortened to kr.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.