Countries with Crosses on Their Flags

Seven representative examples

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden use the Nordic cross. Switzerland and the United Kingdom make useful contrasts because their crosses are arranged differently.

Scroll across the table to compare all four columns.

Flag	Country	Cross design	Colours
	Denmark	White Nordic cross	White and red
	Finland	Blue Nordic cross	Blue and white
	Iceland	Red Nordic cross with a white outline	Red, white, and blue
	Norway	Blue Nordic cross with a white outline	Blue, white, and red
	Sweden	Yellow Nordic cross	Yellow and blue
	Switzerland	Centered white cross	White and red
	United Kingdom	Red and white upright and diagonal crosses	Red, white, and blue

How the designs differ

The Nordic Council's flag guide groups the five Nordic examples above. Their cross sits nearer the flagpole than the flying edge, so it looks offset rather than centred. The colour combinations help separate them: Sweden is yellow and blue, while Finland is blue and white.

Switzerland is different again: its official Swiss flag guide describes a centred white cross on a red, square flag. The United Kingdom's Union Flag layers red and white upright and diagonal crosses on blue; see the Union Flag specification for its design standard.

A quick elimination method

First, notice whether the cross is offset or centred. An offset cross points you toward the Nordic group; a centred white cross on red points toward Switzerland. Next, use colour to narrow the group: blue and yellow suggests Sweden, while blue and white suggests Finland. Finally, check every other clue in the cell instead of choosing from the flag pattern alone.

Using a flag clue in GeoRiddle

Suppose a cell says “Flag has a cross” and “Flag has red.” In this seven-country study set, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom fit both clues. Sweden and Finland have crosses, but their flags do not contain red, so they should be rejected. This is a learning example, not an answer to today's puzzle.

One clue is never enough: a country has to satisfy the row and column together. After a correct placement, that country cannot fill another cell on the same board. See how to solve geography grid puzzles for the full intersection and no-repeat rules.