What does Ordem e Progresso mean?
It means “Order and Progress” and belongs to the ideological symbolism of Brazil's republican era.
Flag of Brazil
Brazil's flag combines a green field, yellow diamond, blue celestial sphere, white band and stars. The republican design dates to 1889, while its star pattern has changed with the federation.
Current flag
Flag emoji 🇧🇷
Brazil
Flag facts
Information about the flag’s design, colours and proportions.
- Proportion
- 7:10 height: width
Flag design
- Layout
- Plain field
- Symbols
- Star – Centre and Text – Centre
- Shapes
- Diamond – Centre and Disc – Centre
- Colours
- Green, yellow, blue, and white
Sources
- Proportion: Presidência da República – Lei nº 5.700
What does Brazil's flag mean?
Brazil's flag combines a green field, a yellow diamond, a blue celestial globe, a white band and the words Ordem e Progresso. Its 27 stars represent the 26 states and the Federal District.
The stars are arranged as constellations and connect the design with the proclamation of the republic in 1889. Green and yellow are often associated with nature and resources, but they also derive from imperial symbolism: green from the House of Braganza and yellow from the House of Habsburg.
A starry sky above the yellow diamond
The flag places a yellow diamond on a green field. Inside it, a blue celestial sphere is crossed by a white band bearing the motto “Ordem e Progresso”. Legislation specifies the arrangement and the elements of the starry sphere.
The current design has 27 stars: one for each of Brazil's 26 states and one for the Federal District. Their arrangement represents the sky over Rio de Janeiro at 8:30 a.m. on 15 November 1889; the 1992 law provides for updates when states are created or abolished.
Green and yellow carry imperial history
The republican decree of 1889 retained the green and yellow of the imperial flag while replacing its central emblem with the celestial sphere. IBGE's historical account relates green to the House of Braganza and yellow to the House of Habsburg, alongside later popular readings about nature and wealth.
Green as forests and yellow as gold are widespread interpretations, but should not be treated as the only original official explanation. The decree specifies the colours and design; accounts of their meaning need to be attributed to their historical sources.
From 21 stars in 1889 to 27 today
Decree No. 4 established the republican flag on 19 November 1889. Raimundo Teixeira Mendes conceived the design with Miguel Lemos; Décio Villares drew it, and astronomer Manuel Pereira Reis arranged the stars. “Ordem e Progresso” abbreviates a positivist motto associated with Auguste Comte.
The original flag had 21 stars. Later changes to Brazil's federal units added stars, and Law No. 8,421 of 1992 updated the design. Spica, the star shown above the band, represents Pará.
Frequently asked questions
What do the 27 stars represent?
They represent Brazil's 26 states and the Federal District.
How many stars are on Brazil's flag?
There are 27: 26 represent the states and one represents the Federal District. The 1889 design had 21 stars.
What does the isolated star above the band represent?
It is Spica and represents the state of Pará, according to Brazil's official explanations.
How did Brazil’s flag change after 1889?
The original republican design had 21 stars. Law No. 8,421 of 1992 updated the pattern to reflect the states and Federal District; the current flag has 27 stars.
Do green and yellow officially mean forests and gold?
That is a widespread later interpretation. Historical accounts also connect green and yellow to the imperial-era houses of Braganza and Habsburg.
Sources
- Presidência da República – Lei nº 5.700
- Presidência da República – Bandeira Nacional
- Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins – Astronomia e a Bandeira Nacional
- IBGE – A bandeira do Brasil e outros símbolos nacionais
- Biblioteca Nacional Digital – Decreto nº 1, 19 November 1889
- Brazilian Chamber of Deputies – Lei nº 8.421, 11 May 1992
Country facts
- Type
- Country
- Name
- Brazil
- Continent
- South America
- Capital
- Brasilia
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
- BR
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
- BRA
- ISO 3166-1 numeric
- 076
- Top-level domain
- .br
- Area
- 8,511,960 km²
- Population
- 212,812,405 (2025)
- Currency
- BRL
- Calling code
- +55
Historical flags: Brazil (1697–)
Images are ordered by the years listed in the collection. A listed year may not be the flag’s official adoption year.
About historical flags
Vexilla's historical flag collection includes former flags associated with present-day countries and territories, as well as flags of states, empires, and other authorities that historically governed them.
A flag's inclusion in a country's historical collection does not necessarily mean that the country was independent at the time or that the flag was its own national flag.
The years shown are based on historical records in the dataset and do not always indicate the date of official adoption. The collection is not exhaustive, and historical usage, territorial coverage, and interpretations may vary.
