Which flag emoji has a red background with a white cross?

The flag emoji with a red background and a white cross is Switzerland. Its design shows the Swiss Cross, a white Greek cross centered on a square red field.

The symbol has medieval roots. Swiss soldiers used a white cross as a field sign for identification, with early evidence dating to the Battle of Laupen in 1339. Over time, the cross became associated with the Old Swiss Confederacy and eventually the modern Swiss state.

Switzerland’s national flag is unusual because it is square; only Vatican City also has a square national flag. The Swiss civil ensign used by ships and some other vessels is rectangular, with proportions of 2:3. The International Red Cross symbol reverses the Swiss colors: it is a red cross on a white background, created in part as a tribute to Switzerland.

A common mix-up is Sweden, Norway, or Denmark, whose flags also use Scandinavian-style crosses but have blue, red-and-blue, or red-and-white layouts rather than Switzerland’s centered white cross on a red square.