Flag of Greenland

Territory or dependency

Flag of Greenland uses horizontal bicolour with an offset counterchanged disc. Ratio 2:3, current adoption June 21, 1985 and design credited to Thue Christiansen.

Hoist Ratio 2:3 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of Greenland
Entity Type	Territory or dependency
Identifier	GL / GRL
Region	North America

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	June 21, 1985
First Documented Use	1985
Proportion	2:3
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	White, Red
Designer	Thue Christiansen
Construction	Horizontal bicolour with an offset counterchanged disc

Documented Colour Values

Colour	Appearance	HEX	RGB	CMYK
White		#FFFFFF	255, 255, 255	0, 0, 0, 0
Red		#D00C33	208, 12, 51	0, 94, 75, 18

Design and Symbolism

White	the ice cap and the glaciers.
Red	the sun and the ocean.
Counterchanged disc	The midnight sun half above and half below the horizon, and the ice floes on the sea — Erfalasorput, “our flag”.

Proportions

Ratio	2:3
Hoist	2 units
Fly	3 units

About the Flag of Greenland

Horizontal bicolour with an offset counterchanged disc The recorded proportion is 2:3. Within this library it is grouped with bicolour with an emblem designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for Greenland is White (#FFFFFF) and Red (#D00C33). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

Counterchanged disc: The midnight sun half above and half below the horizon, and the ice floes on the sea — Erfalasorput, “our flag”.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1985. The adoption field for the present record is June 21, 1985. The designer is recorded as Thue Christiansen.

Entity status

Greenland is classified here as territory or dependency. That label describes the entity represented by the flag and prevents a territory, state or constituent area from being presented as a sovereign country.

Additional flag context

The counterchanged disc represents the midnight sun half above and half below the horizon, and the ice floes on the sea.

The flag is called Erfalasorput — our flag — and was chosen in 1985 from more than five hundred proposals, narrowly beating a Nordic cross design.

Thue Christiansen, who designed it, deliberately avoided a cross so the flag would not read as Scandinavian.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Horizontal bicolour with an offset counterchanged disc, a 2:3 proportion and the visible counterchanged disc. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — Greenland — Specialist vexillological reference

Other bicolour with an emblem flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of Greenland

Greenland is recorded as horizontal bicolour with an offset counterchanged disc.
The reference proportion for the flag of Greenland is 2:3.
The stored palette for Greenland contains White and Red.
The adoption field for this territory or dependency flag record is June 21, 1985.
The design record traces first use to 1985.
Thue Christiansen is credited in the dataset as the designer of the flag.
Its construction is grouped with the bicolour with an emblem design family in this library.
Counterchanged disc: The midnight sun half above and half below the horizon, and the ice floes on the sea — Erfalasorput, “our flag”.
The counterchanged disc represents the midnight sun half above and half below the horizon, and the ice floes on the sea.
The flag is called Erfalasorput — our flag — and was chosen in 1985 from more than five hundred proposals, narrowly beating a Nordic cross design.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of Greenland

What does the flag of Greenland look like?

Horizontal bicolour with an offset counterchanged disc, with a recorded proportion of 2:3.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of Greenland?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 2:3.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of Greenland?

The reference palette lists White #FFFFFF and Red #D00C33.

What do the symbols on the flag of Greenland represent?

Counterchanged disc — The midnight sun half above and half below the horizon, and the ice floes on the sea — Erfalasorput, “our flag”.

When was the present flag record for Greenland adopted?

The adoption field in this record is June 21, 1985.

Who designed the flag of Greenland?

The designer is recorded as Thue Christiansen.

Which design family does the flag of Greenland belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with bicolour with an emblem designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.