Flag of Brazil

Facts about the Flag of Brazil

1. The twenty-seven stars are a real star map: the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of 15 November 1889, drawn as if viewed from outside the celestial sphere, so it appears mirrored.
2. Stars have been added as states were created, most recently in 1992. Each star is assigned to a specific state or to the Federal District.
3. The green and yellow are usually explained as the houses of Braganza and Habsburg, from the imperial period, rather than as forest and gold — a reading that arrived later.
4. The motto Ordem e Progresso is taken from Auguste Comte's positivist philosophy, which was influential among the officers who founded the republic.
5. The flag of Brazil was officially adopted on May 11, 1992. It was designed by Raimundo Teixeira Mendes and others.
6. The design is older than its adoption. It was already in use in 1889, 103 years before it was formally made the flag of Brazil.
7. The flag in its present form is 34 years old as of 2026.
8. Design type: Green field with a yellow rhombus and a starry blue globe.
9. The flag is known as Auriverde (the gold and green), a name used far more often than the formal "flag of Brazil".
10. The official proportions are 7:10. It shares that ratio with 1 national flag.
11. The flag uses 4 colours: green, yellow, blue and white.
12. The green on the flag stands for the House of Braganza and the forests.
13. The yellow on the flag stands for the House of Habsburg and the country’s gold.
14. The blue on the flag stands for the sky over Rio de Janeiro.
15. 27 stars: The 26 states and the Federal District, arranged as the sky over Rio on the morning of 15 November 1889.
16. Motto: “Ordem e Progresso” — Order and Progress, drawn from Auguste Comte’s positivist philosophy.
17. The design belongs to the "Plain field with a central emblem" family, shared with 70 other flags in this reference.
18. Flags most often confused with it: Alaska, Antarctica and Arkansas.