Brazil is the eighth-largest economy in the world, but is recovering from a recession in 2015 and 2016 that ranks as the worst in the country’s history. In 2017, Brazil`s GDP grew 1%, inflation fell to historic lows of 2.9%, and the Central Bank lowered benchmark interest rates from 13.75% in 2016 to 7%.
The economy has been negatively affected by multiple corruption scandals involving private companies and government officials, including the impeachment and conviction of Former President Dilma ROUSSEFF in August 2016. Sanctions against the firms involved — some of the largest in Brazil — have limited their business opportunities, producing a ripple effect on associated businesses and contractors but creating opportunities for foreign companies to step into what had been a closed market.
The succeeding TEMER administration has implemented a series of fiscal and structural reforms to restore credibility to government finances. Congress approved legislation in December 2016 to cap public spending. Government spending growth had pushed public debt to 73.7% of GDP at the end of 2017, up from over 50% in 2012. The government also boosted infrastructure projects, such as oil and natural gas auctions, in part to raise revenues. Other economic reforms, proposed in 2016, aim to reduce barriers to foreign investment, and to improve labor conditions. Policies to strengthen Brazil’s workforce and industrial sector, such as local content requirements, have boosted employment, but at the expense of investment.
Brazil is a member of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), a trade bloc that includes Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay - Venezuela’s membership in the organization was suspended In August 2017. After the Asian and Russian financial crises, Mercosur adopted a protectionist stance to guard against exposure to volatile foreign markets and it currently is negotiating Free Trade Agreements with the European Union and Canada.
Agriculture: 9.4%
Industry: 32.1%
Services: 58.5% (2017 est.)
2017: 12.8%
2016: 11.3%
Lowest 10: 0.8%
Highest 10: 43.4% (2016 est.)
2014: 49
2004: 54
Revenues: 733.7 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 756.3 billion (2017 est.)
2017: 84% of GDP
2016: 78.4% of GDP
31 December 2017: 7%
31 December 2016: 13.75%
31 December 2017: 46.92%
31 December 2016: 52.1%
31 December 2017: $110.3 billion
31 December 2016: $106.7 billion
31 December 2017: $110.3 billion
31 December 2016: $106.7 billion
31 December 2017: $2.206 trillion
31 December 2016: $2.138 trillion
31 December 2017: $642.5 billion
31 December 2014: $561.1 billion
31 December 2013: $420 billion
31 December 2017: $374 billion
31 December 2016: $367.5 billion
31 December 2017: $547.4 billion
31 December 2016: $548.6 billion
31 December 2017: $778.3 billion
31 December 2016: $703.3 billion
31 December 2017: $358.9 billion
31 December 2016: $341.5 billion
Currency: reals (BRL) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
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