Flags With a Globe: The 2 Flags Showing a Sphere

Only two national flags clearly depict a globe or sphere: Brazil, whose blue celestial globe is crossed by a white band reading "Ordem e Progresso" and studded with stars, and Portugal, whose flag centres a golden armillary sphere. Both symbols descend from the Age of Discovery and the science of navigation.

Why Globes Are So Rare on Flags

Flags overwhelmingly favour simple, flat shapes — stripes, stars, crescents, and crosses — because they must be recognisable at a distance and easy to reproduce. A globe or sphere is one of the hardest emblems to render on cloth, since it implies three-dimensional depth and fine detail. That is why, out of nearly two hundred national flags, only two make a sphere their centrepiece, and both belong to seafaring nations whose identity is bound up with exploration.

Brazil and Portugal are linked by more than iconography: Brazil was a Portuguese colony for over three centuries, and both flags reach back to the era when Iberian navigators mapped the oceans. Their spheres, though different in form, tell a shared story about looking outward to the wider world.

The Two Flags That Show a Globe

• Brazil: A green field with a yellow rhombus, inside which sits a deep-blue celestial globe. A curved white band crosses it bearing the national motto "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress), and 27 white stars represent the states and the Federal District as the sky appeared over Rio de Janeiro on 15 November 1889.
• Portugal: A field of green and red charged with the national coat of arms, at the heart of which is a golden armillary sphere — a skeletal model of the heavens made of intersecting rings. It recalls Portugal's leadership in maritime navigation during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Two Different Kinds of Sphere

Brazil's globe is a celestial sphere. Rather than showing continents and oceans, it depicts the night sky, with each star standing for a Brazilian state positioned according to real astronomy. The design was adopted in 1889 when Brazil became a republic, and the motto "Ordem e Progresso" was inspired by the positivist philosophy of Auguste Comte.

Portugal's armillary sphere is an instrument, not a planet: a framework of rings representing the circles of the celestial sphere, used by astronomers and navigators to model the movements of the stars. It became a personal emblem of King Manuel I and a symbol of the discoveries that carried Portuguese ships to India, Africa, and Brazil. The current flag was adopted in 1911 after Portugal became a republic, but it preserved this centuries-old navigational icon.

Related Celestial Imagery on Flags

While true globes are limited to Brazil and Portugal, other flags gesture toward the cosmos in flatter ways. Many carry stars — from the constellations on the flags of Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil itself to the lone stars of countries across the world — and a few, such as Nepal, depict a stylised sun and moon. Nauru's flag even maps its own position with a single star just below the equator line. These are cousins of the globe: attempts to place a nation within the wider heavens, using symbols simpler than a full sphere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which countries have a globe on their flag?

Brazil and Portugal are the two countries whose flags clearly show a sphere. Brazil features a blue celestial globe with stars and a motto, while Portugal centres a golden armillary sphere within its coat of arms.

What does the sphere on Portugal's flag mean?

It is an armillary sphere, an old navigational and astronomical instrument made of intersecting rings. It symbolises Portugal's central role in the Age of Discovery and was an emblem of King Manuel I during the era of overseas exploration.

What is written on the globe of Brazil's flag?

The white band across Brazil's celestial globe reads "Ordem e Progresso," meaning "Order and Progress." The phrase was drawn from the positivist philosophy of Auguste Comte and added when Brazil became a republic in 1889.