Flag of Brazil

What the flag of Brazil looks like

The flag of Brazil, called Auriverde ("gold-green") in Portuguese, is a green field with a yellow rhombus, or diamond, whose points almost touch the edges. In the center of the diamond is a blue disc, covered with 27 white five-pointed stars of different sizes. A curved white band crosses the disc from left to right and carries the green words Ordem e Progresso ("Order and Progress"). The proportions are 7:10.

The disc shows the sky as it appeared over Rio de Janeiro at about 8:30 in the morning on 15 November 1889, the day the republic was proclaimed, drawn as if seen from outside the celestial sphere. The Southern Cross is easy to find among the stars. The single star above the band is Spica, which represents the state of Pará. The Brazil flag emoji and a high-resolution file on the Brazil flag download page keep this layout.

Brazil flag meaning and symbolism

The colors of the Brazil flag are often explained as green for the forests and farmland, yellow for gold and mineral wealth, and blue and white for the sky, rivers and peace. That is the version taught in schools today. It is not the original meaning: the green and yellow came from the imperial flag, where green stood for the House of Braganza of Emperor Pedro I, and yellow for the House of Habsburg of his wife, Empress Maria Leopoldina. When the republic was created, the colors were kept, but the meaning was changed.

The 27 stars represent the 26 states and the Federal District. Each star is a named star or constellation, such as Sirius, Canopus or the Southern Cross, and each is assigned to a state. The motto Ordem e Progresso comes from the positivist philosophy of Auguste Comte, which was influential among the officers who founded the republic: "love as a principle, order as a basis, progress as a goal". For a different kind of flag with a message, see the flags of the world.

History of the Brazilian flag

After independence from Portugal in 1822, Brazil became an empire and adopted a flag designed with the help of the French artist Jean-Baptiste Debret: a green field with a yellow rhombus and the imperial coat of arms in the center. This flag was used for 67 years, until the end of the monarchy.

The republic was proclaimed on 15 November 1889. On the first days, a provisional flag was raised that looked like the flag of the United States, with green and yellow stripes and a blue canton with stars. It was used for only a few days, as many officers thought it resembled the American flag too much. On 19 November 1889, the new flag was adopted. It was designed by Raimundo Teixeira Mendes and Miguel Lemos, with astronomical work by Manuel Pereira Reis and drawing by Décio Villares. The arms of the empire were replaced by the blue disc.

The number of stars changed as the number of states changed. The flag had 21 stars at first, and the number was raised several times as new states were created. The last change was in 1992, when four stars were added for new states, bringing the total to 27, and the arrangement is set by a law from 1971. Brazil celebrates Flag Day on 19 November.