Brazil's flag is a deep green banner with a yellow diamond enclosing a night-blue, star-studded Southern Hemisphere sky. The sky depicts 27 white, five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District); the stars are arranged in the pattern of the night sky over Rio de Janeiro on November 15, 1889 (this is the date when the last Emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro II, was deposed, and the republic was proclaimed). The stars in view include the constellations, Southern Cross (also called Crux), Scorpio, Canis Major and others. A banner across the sky reads, "ORDEM E PROGRESSO," which means "order and progress" in Portuguese.

This flag was adopted on May 11, 1992 - it was an adaptation of an earlier Brazilian flag from November 15, 1889.
 

Copyright © 2004 Brazil at a glance. All rights reserved.