Key economic indicators of Brazil - Statistics & Facts
Brazil is considered an upper middle-income country and a developing economy. Its membership in a myriad of economic organizations, such as G20, WTO, Paris Club, Mercosur, and G8+5, and its prospective access to the OECD, are testament to Brazil’s economic significance. It is not only the largest economy in Latin America, but also of one of the biggest worldwide, with a GDP that amounted to 2.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. Nevertheless, being the most populous nation in the region, and since the GDP is not adjusted for a country’s population size, GDP per capita is better suited for country-to-country comparisons. This indicator provides a very different picture: with a GDP per capita of 10,044 U.S. dollars in 2023, Brazil fell to a 18th position in Latin America and the Caribbean, far behind its regional economic competitors, Argentina (14th) and Mexico (13th).
Approximately two-thirds of the Brazilian GDP derives from the service sector, a share similar to that of economies in a more advanced stage of development and with much higher per capita income. Employment is also largely concentrated in the service sector, which accounted for 70 percent of the total in 2022. For instance, the retail, trade and automobile repair sector employs the largest workforce in the country, with nearly 13,156 million employees.
Nevertheless, commodity revenues are volatile by nature and the Brazilian economy is characterized by cycles of booms and busts, and so the current economic situation of the country is not as buoyant as it once was. Even though the economy has partially recovered from the recession experienced between 2014 and 2016, GDP growth has been modest during the past few years, staying below two percent in the years preceding the pandemic, far from the values registered in the first decade of the 21st century, when annual GDP change exceeded five percent on several occasions. Despite the bust in commodity prices, trade has been gaining traction in relation to the national GDP. The fact is that Brazil has established itself among the world giants in many resource-related sectors, particularly agriculture, manufacturing and mining, thanks to its richness in natural resources. For instance, the Portuguese speaking country is the main global exporter of soybean, coffee and beef, as well as one of the largest producers of biodiesel, crude oil, and bauxite worldwide, among other crops and minerals. On the flip side, the development of these industries is also closely linked to deforestation in the country.
With the pandemic years behind, the Brazilian unemployment rate dropped to 7.95 percent in 2023, which represented a reduction of nearly 1.3 percent when compared to the previous year. Unemployment was more pervasive in the Northeast, North and Southeast regions, as well as among black and Pardo Brazilians. Another problem is the persistence of informal employment, which has stabilized between 36 and 39 percent in recent years. Despite such a high rate, Brazil presented in 2023 one of the lowest rates of informal employment in Latin America.
Approximately two-thirds of the Brazilian GDP derives from the service sector, a share similar to that of economies in a more advanced stage of development and with much higher per capita income. Employment is also largely concentrated in the service sector, which accounted for 70 percent of the total in 2022. For instance, the retail, trade and automobile repair sector employs the largest workforce in the country, with nearly 13,156 million employees.
From the commodity boom to a recession
Brazil experienced a remarkable economic growth during the commodity boom between 2000 and 2014. In this period, the prices of and demand for commodities like oil, food crops, and metals grew steadily, boosting Brazilian exports and providing the country with employment and labor income gains, as well as large earnings, which were redirected towards social transfers that tackled poverty and inequality. In those years, Brazil and the rest of the BRICS countries –Russia, India, China and South Africa- showed promising rates of economic development.Nevertheless, commodity revenues are volatile by nature and the Brazilian economy is characterized by cycles of booms and busts, and so the current economic situation of the country is not as buoyant as it once was. Even though the economy has partially recovered from the recession experienced between 2014 and 2016, GDP growth has been modest during the past few years, staying below two percent in the years preceding the pandemic, far from the values registered in the first decade of the 21st century, when annual GDP change exceeded five percent on several occasions. Despite the bust in commodity prices, trade has been gaining traction in relation to the national GDP. The fact is that Brazil has established itself among the world giants in many resource-related sectors, particularly agriculture, manufacturing and mining, thanks to its richness in natural resources. For instance, the Portuguese speaking country is the main global exporter of soybean, coffee and beef, as well as one of the largest producers of biodiesel, crude oil, and bauxite worldwide, among other crops and minerals. On the flip side, the development of these industries is also closely linked to deforestation in the country.
FDI and unemployment
After the 2014 commodity price shock and the economic recession that followed, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Brazil experienced a downturn. Having surpassed 90 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, in 2020 FDI in Brazil amounted to merely 44.7 billion dollars. In 2023, the FDI surpassed 64 billion U.S. dollars, with half of it being directed towards the service sector. As a result, Brazil remained as the country with the largest inflows in the region, proof that it is still regarded as an attractive market for international investors. On the other hand, sub-optimal infrastructure, high transportation costs, low productivity and political instability are some of the reasons that keep hampering investment in the country.With the pandemic years behind, the Brazilian unemployment rate dropped to 7.95 percent in 2023, which represented a reduction of nearly 1.3 percent when compared to the previous year. Unemployment was more pervasive in the Northeast, North and Southeast regions, as well as among black and Pardo Brazilians. Another problem is the persistence of informal employment, which has stabilized between 36 and 39 percent in recent years. Despite such a high rate, Brazil presented in 2023 one of the lowest rates of informal employment in Latin America.
