Use | Other |
---|---|
Adopted | 1996 |
The flag of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (or flag of the CPLP), also known as the Flag of the Lusophony, represents the intergovernmental organization for friendship among Lusophone ( Portuguese-speaking) nations where Portuguese is an official language. The Portuguese language countries are home to more than 270 million people located across the globe. The CPLP nations cover a combined area of about 10,772,000 square kilometres (4,159,000 sq mi).
The CPLP was formed in 1996 with seven countries: Portugal, Brazil, a former colony in South America, and five former colonies in Africa— Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe. East Timor joined the community in 2002 after regaining independence from Indonesia; Equatorial Guinea joined in 2014. Senegal and Mauritius are associate members.
The flag symbolises the Portuguese-speaking countries' union: having a blue circle, divided into eight equal wavy shapes (the numbers of members of the CPLP before Equatorial Guinea joined as the ninth member in 2014, despite which a ninth wave has not yet been added to the flag) representing the sea (primary bond between the Community), at the center of a white field, in the center of which a small concentrical blue circle was placed representing the union.