Brazil - Current

The current Brazilian flag is a green field on which a large yellow rhombus is centred. A blue circle is placed within the rhombus, on which is represented, a view of the sky over Rio de Janeiro, with the constellation "Cruzeiro do Sul" (Southern Cross) at the meridian.[1] A curved white band runs through the blue circle, inscribed in green capital letters with the motto “Ordem e Progresso” (Order and Progress).[2]

The Law on the National Flag: details of construction give the following technical description (translated from Portuguese):
“ART. 5 - The construction of the national flag will conform to the following rules. To calculate the dimensions, take as a basis the desired width [of the hoist] and divide it into 14 (fourteen) equal parts. Each of these parts will be considered a measure or module, M. The length [of the fly] will be 20 modules (20 M). The distance from the vertices of the yellow lozenge to the edge of the field will be one and seven tenths modules (1.7 M). The blue circle in the middle of the lozenge will have a radius of three and a half modules (3.5 M). The centre of the arcs of the white band will be two modules (2 M) to the left of the point where the extension of the vertical diameter of the circle meets the lower edge of the field (point C indicated in Annex number 2). The radius of the lower arc of the white band will be eight modules (8 M); the radius of the upper arc of the white band will be eight and a half modules (8.5 M). The width of the white band will be one-half module (0.5 M). The letters of the motto "Ordem e Progresso" will be in green. They will be located in the middle of the white stripe, with equal white spaces above and below. The letter P will be placed on the vertical diameter of the circle. The distribution of the other letters will be as indicated in Annex number 2. The letters of the word "Ordem" and of the word "Progresso" will be one-third of a module (0.333 M) in height. The width of these letters will be three-tenths of a module (0.3 M). The height of the letter of the conjunction "E" will be three-tenths of a module (0.3 M). The width of this letter will be one quarter of a module (0.25 M).
The stars will be in 5 (five) dimensions: of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth sizes. They are to be traced within circles whose dimensions will be: three-tenths of a module (0.3 M) for the first size; one-quarter of a module (0.25 M) for the second size; one-fifth of a module (0.2 M) for the third size; one-seventh of a module (0.143 M) for the fourth size; and one-tenth of a module (0.1 M) for the fifth size.
The two sides [of the flag] will be exactly equal, with the white stripe inclined from left to right (from the point of view of an observer facing the flag), it being forbidden to make one side as a mirror-image of the other.”[3]

The main colours of the Brazilian flag are green and yellow, in fact the flag is sometimes called Auriverde which means "(of) gold and green". The next-to-last stanza of Castro Alves's Navio Negreiro, for example, uses that term.[4] The colours green and yellow refer to the Royal Houses of Bragança (Emperor Pedro I) and Habsburg (Empress Leopoldina). [5][6] The blue and the white represent the Portuguese cultural heritage (the original national colours of the Kingdom of Portugal).[7]
It is also stated that he colours of yellow and green were devised by Prince Regent Pedro. According to the Piraquê Club website (www.piraque.org.br), no longer on line:
“On 7 September 1822, after demanding “Independence or Death,” Prince Regent Pedro (later Emperor Dom Pedro I) removed the Portuguese blue-and-white cockade from his hat and exclaimed, “From now on we will have another laço (ribbon-knot), green and yellow. These will be the national colours.”
It also states:
“On 18 September, Pedro signed three decrees that were the first acts of independent Brazil. The second decree created a new national cockade: “The Brazilian national laço… will be composed of the emblematic colours: green for spring and yellow for gold.…””[8]
On the republican flag, the green background is said to represent the forests, the yellow rhombus stand for the mineral wealth but this is disputed by some as an invention of the Republicans in 1889 as an attempt to deny the monarchist character of the Brazilian flag.[17]The colour green stands today for the agriculture and floral abundance, yellow for the minerals and the gold prospecting. White and blue picture "pioneers and their virtues", and remember the Portuguese descent.[25]

There are some discrepancies regarding the Pantone colours for the flag. They are either given as Green 356 CV, Yellow 3945CV, and Blue 286CV[9] or more reliably as Green 355, Yellow, Blue 280.[10]

There is a great deal of symbolism within the design of the Brazilian flag, none more so than the stars pictured on the celestial globe. The stars, whose position in the flag reflect the sky above Rio de Janeiro on November 15, 1889, represent the union's member-states - each star representing a specific state (which is not the case of the stars in the flag of the United States). The number of stars changes with the creation of new states and, since the early days of the republic, has risen from an original 21 stars to the current 27, standing for the 26 states and the Federal District.[11][12]
The stars and the states they relate to are as follows:

Amazonas - Alpha Canis Minoris (Procyon) Canis Minor
Mato Grosso - Alpha Canis Majoris (Sirius) Canis Major
Amapá - Beta Canis Majoris (Mirzam) Canis Major
Rondônia - Gamma Canis Majoris (Muliphen) Canis Major
Roraima - Delta Canis Majoris (Wezen) Canis Major
Tocantins - Epsilon Canis Majoris (Adhara) Canis Major
Pará - Alpha Virginis (Spica) Virgo
Piauí - Alpha Scorpii (Antares) Scorpius
Maranhão - Beta Scorpii (Graffias) Scorpius
Ceará - Epsilon Scorpii Scorpius
Alagoas - Theta Scorpii (Sargas) Scorpius
Sergipe - Iota Scorpii Scorpius
Paraiba - Kappa Scorpii Scorpius
Rio Grande do Norte - Lambda Scorpii (Shaula) Scorpius
Pernambuco - Mu Scorpii Scorpius
Mato Grosso do Sul - Alpha Hydrae (Alphard) Hydra
Acre - Gamma Hydrae Hydra
São Paulo - Alpha Crucis (Acrux) Crux
Rio de Janeiro - Beta Crucis (Mimosa) Crux
Bahia - Gamma Crucis (Gacrux) Crux
Minas Gerais - Delta Crucis Crux
Espírito Santo - Epsilon Crucis Crux
Rio Grande do Sul - Alpha Trianguli Australis Triangulum Australe
Santa Catarina - Beta Trianguli Australis Triangulum Australe
Paraná - Gamma Trianguli Australis Triangulum Australe
Goiás - Alpha Carinae (Canopus) Carina
Distrito Federal - Sigma Octantis (Polaris Australis) Octans[13]



The star that represents the Federal District is Sigma Octantis, a star whose position near the south celestial pole makes it visible across almost the whole country, all year round. In addition, given its polar position, all the other stars depicted on the flag trace appear to rotate around Sigma Octantis. Choosing this star to represent Brazil's capital is therefore particularly apt (although it is a much fainter star than any of the others).[14]

The celestial sphere itself is symbolic of Brazils historical links with Portugal. Pedersen states in The International Flag Book:
“The symbol of the scroll and the celestial globe were inspired by the armillary sphere in the Arms of Portugal.”[15]
The white band around the sphere has much speculation surrounding it. Meanings varying from it representing the celestial equator, the ecliptic to the belt of the zodiac have been put forward. However it is likely that is nothing more than a place for a motto to be inscribed.[16]

The motto Ordem e Progresso ("Order and Progress") is inspired by Auguste Comte's motto of positivism: L’amour pour principe et l’ordre pour base; le progrès pour but ("Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal"). It was inserted because several of the people involved in the military coup d'état that deposed the monarchy and proclaimed Brazil a republic were followers of the ideas of Comte's thought including Professor Teixeira Mendes, who conceived the basic design of the flag.[18][19]

Many people are stated to of had an influence in the design of the Brazilian flag. French painter and designer, Jean-Baptiste Debret is attributed the original lozenge design, adopted for the Kingdom of Brazil in 1822. It is thought that the design was inspired by the lozenges on pre-1812 Napoleonic military colors.[21] Ruy Barbosa, lawyer and Minister of Finances and Taxation’s short lived first attempt for a national flag reiterated the colours for the flag. However his flag was vetoed for looking too similar to that of the United States.[20] "Father of the Republic" and an acting president, field marshal Deodoro da Fonseca suggested that the new Republican Flag should resemble the Imperial Flag. The decision was then made to replace only the royal crest with a new design.[22] This new flag was prepared by Professor Raimundo Texeira Mendes who collaborated with Dr. Miguel Lemos and Professor Manuel Pereira Reis, chairman of astronomy at the Polytechnic School, and the design was executed by the painter Décio Vilares.[23] The ball of blue sky and positivist motto "Order and Progress" in place of the royal crown is thought to be the suggestion of Benjamin Constant.[24]

The current national flag and ensign maintains the same design with some minor changes. This 27-star version was adopted on May 12, 1992 (Law 8.421, May 11, 1992).


[1] Os Símbolos Nacionais, Presidência da República, Brasília, 1986 quoted by Pier Paolo Lugli - Flags of the World http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[2] Wikipedia - Flag of Brazil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil
[3] Law on the National Flag - http://www.exercito.gov.br/01inst/Historia/simbnac/simbnasc.htm translated by Joseph McMillan - Flags of the World http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[4] Navio Negreiro - http://www.culturabrasil.org/navionegreiro.htm - Wikipedia - Flag of Brazil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil
[5] Felipe Flores Pinto - Flags of the World http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[6] World Flags 101 - Brazilian Flag Meaning http://www.worldflags101.com/b/brazil-flag.aspx
[7] Translated from Italian http://www.rbvex.it/ameripag/brasile.html
[8] Joseph McMillan - Flags of the World http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[9] Bandeiras do Brasil - http://www.bandeirasdobrasil.hpg.ig.com.br/ citing Ministry of Culture specifications from Flags of the World - http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html. However Flags of the World has no such information.
[10] The Ministry of Development, Industry, and External Commerce - Flags of the World http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[11] Herman De Wael, Flags of the World - http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[12] Wikipedia - Flag of Brazil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil
[13] http://www.exercito.gov.br/01inst/Historia/simbnac/simbnasc.htm
[14] Wikipedia - Flag of Brazil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil
[15] Pedersen, The International Flag Book, (1979), pp 217-8, Christopher Southworth - Flags of the World - http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[16] www.piraque.org.br (page no longer available) - Joseph McMillan, Flags of the World - http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[17] Translated from Italian http://www.rbvex.it/ameripag/brasile.html
[18] Wikipedia - Flag of Brazil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil
[19] Joseph McMillan - Flags of the World http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[20] Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil
[21] Joseph McMillan, Flags of the World - http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[22] Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil
[23] Joseph McMillan, Flags of the World - http://flagspot.net/flags/br.html
[24] Translated from Portuguese http://www.brasil.gov.br/pais/simbolos_hinos/simb/
[25] Flaggenlexikon - Translated from German http://www.flaggenlexikon.de
[fig1] Flag of Brazil - Governo Federal http://www.brasil.gov.br/pais/simbolos_hinos/simb/
[fig2] The Celestial Sphere - http://www.exercito.gov.br/01inst/Historia/simbnac/simbnasc.htm