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. The maintenance of large current account deficits
via capital account surpluses became problematic as investors became
more risk averse to emerging markets 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. The consequent devaluation helped
moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999, and the country
posted moderate GDP growth in 2000. Economic growth slowed
considerably in 2001-03 - to less than 2% - because of a slowdown in
major markets and the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank
to combat inflationary pressures. New president DA SILVA, who took
office 1 January 2003, has given priority to reforming the complex
tax code, trimming the overblown civil service pension system, and
continuing the fight against inflation.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.376 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.5% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 8%
industry: 36%
services: 56% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
22% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
60.7 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.3% (2002)
Labor force:
79 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
services 53%, agriculture 23%, industry 24%
Unemployment rate:
6.4% (2001 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $100.6 billion
expenditures: $91.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000)
Industries:
textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel,
aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
Industrial production growth rate:
2.3% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
321.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 8.3%
hydro: 82.7%
other: 4.6% (2001)
nuclear: 4.4%
Electricity - consumption:
335.9 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
37.19 billion kWh; note - supplied by Paraguay (2001)
Oil - production:
1.561 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
2.199 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
8.507 billion bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production:
5.95 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
9.59 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
3.64 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
221.7 billion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products:
coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef
Exports:
$59.4 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Exports - partners:
US 23.8%, Argentina 8.5%, Germany 5%, China 4.3%, Netherlands 4.2%
(2002)
Imports:
$46.2 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, electrical, and transport equipment, chemical products,
oil
Imports - partners:
US 23.3%, Argentina 12.6%, Germany 8.7%, France 5.2% (2002)
Debt - external:
$222.4 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient:
$30 billion IMF disbursement (2002)
Currency:
real (BRL)
Currency code:
BRL
Exchange rates:
reals per US dollar - 2.92 (2002), 2.36 (2001), 1.83 (2000), 1.81
(1999), 1.16 (1998)
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