the current flag uses many elements of the previous empire's flag including the green field and the yellow rhombus representing the house of braganza.

a blue circle with 21 white five-pointed stars, signifying each of the states and federal districts, replaced the arms of the empire and are a representation of the stars seen over rio de janeiro at the time of the republic's declaration on the 15th november 1889.

finally, it is completed with a banner over the sky with the motto 'ordem e progresso' ('order and progress').

in 1992, six stars were added to reflect the addition of new states, and the position was changed to more accurately reflect the sky.