Short facts about the economy in Brazil

Economy - overview:

Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. In the late eighties and early nineties, high inflation hindered economic activity and investment. "The Real Plan", instituted in the spring of 1994, sought to break inflationary expectations by pegging the real to the US dollar. Inflation was brought down to single digit annual figures, but not fast enough to avoid substantial real exchange rate appreciation during the transition phase of the "Real Plan". This appreciation meant that Brazilian goods were now more expensive relative to goods from other countries, which contributed to large current account deficits. However, no shortage of foreign currency ensued because of the financial community's renewed interest in Brazilian markets as inflation rates stabilized and the debt crisis of the eighties faded from memory. The maintenance of large current account deficits via capital account surpluses became problematic as investors became more risk averse to emerging market exposure as a consequence of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the Russian bond default in August 1998. After crafting a fiscal adjustment program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a $41.5 billion IMF-led international support program in November 1998. In January 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank announced that the real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998. Brazil's debt to GDP ratio for 1999 beat the IMF target and helped reassure investors that Brazil will maintain tight fiscal and monetary policy even with a floating currency. The economy continued to recover in 2000, with inflation remaining in the single digits and expected growth for 2001 of 4.5%. Foreign direct investment set a record of more than $30 billion in 2000.

GDP:	purchasing power parity - $1.13 trillion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

4.2% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture:  9% industry:  29% services:  62% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:

17.4% (1990 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%:  1% highest 10%:  47.6% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

6% (2000)

Labor force:

79 million (1999 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

services 53.2%, agriculture 23.1%, industry 23.7%

Unemployment rate:

7.1% (2000 est.)

Budget:

revenues:  $151 billion expenditures:  $149 billion, including capital expenditures of $36 billion (1998)

Industries:

textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment

Industrial production growth rate:

6.9% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:

337.44 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel:  5.28% hydro:  90.66% nuclear:  1.12% other:  2.94% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:

353.674 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:

5 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:

39.86 billion kWh note:  supplied by Paraguay (1999)

Agriculture - products:

coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef

Exports:

$55.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities:

manufactures, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee

Exports - partners:

US 23%, Argentina 11%, Germany 5%, Netherlands 5%, Japan 5% (1999)

Imports:

$55.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities:

machinery and equipment, chemical products, oil, electricity

Imports - partners:

US 24%, Argentina 12%, Germany 10%, Japan 5%, Italy 5% (1999)

Debt - external:

$232 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:

NA

Currency:

real (BRL)

Currency code:

BRL

Exchange rates:

reals per US dollar - 1.954 (January 2001), 1.830 (2000), 1.815 (1999), 1.161 (1998), 1.078 (1997), 1.005 (1996) note:  from October 1994 through 14 January 1999, the official rate was determined by a managed float; since 15 January 1999, the official rate floats independently with respect to the US dollar

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Source: World Factbook