Flag of Greenland
Two horizontal bands, white over red, with a disc set towards the hoist that is red in its upper half and white in its lower half.
What the flag means
Designer Thue Christiansen explained it in a leaflet for the flag's tenth anniversary. The white band is the ice cap and glaciers, the red band the ocean, the red half-disc the sun sinking into the sea, and the white half-disc icebergs and pack ice.
History
In 1974 a newspaper collected proposals and the public was polled, but the committee could not agree and asked for more designs. Christiansen's red and white design beat a green and white Nordic cross by 14 votes to 11. The flag was adopted on 21 June 1985. Its colours match the Danish flag, a sign of Greenland's place in the Kingdom of Denmark.
It is the only flag of a Nordic country or territory without a Nordic cross.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Flag of Greenland
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Read how we research flags in our editorial policy, or report a mistake.
