flag of Switzerland

The national flag of Switzerland displays a white Greek cross in the center of a red field. The white cross is known as the Swiss cross or the federal cross. Its arms are rectangular, with a ratio of height to width of 7:6 for the vertical arms and 6:7 for the horizontal arms. The size of the cross in relation to the field was set in 2017 as 5:8. The Swiss flag is square, instead of the rectangular shape typical for national flags.

The white cross has been used as the field sign (attached to the clothing of combatants and to the cantonal war flags in the form of strips of linen) of the Old Swiss Confederacy since its formation in the late 13th or early 14th century. Its symbolism was described by the Swiss Federal Council in 1889 as representing "at the same the Christian cross symbol and the field sign of the Old Confederacy". As a national ensign, it was first used during the Napoleonic Wars by general Niklaus Franz von Bachmann, and as regimental flag of all cantonal troops from 1841. The federal coat of arms (eidgenössisches Wappen) was defined in 1815 for the Restored Confederacy as the white-on-red Swiss cross in a heraldic shield. The current design was used together with a cross composed of five squares until 1889, when its dimensions were officially set.