Brazilian economy up 1.1% in 2019

Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP) closed out last year with a growth of 1.1 percent from 2018. The outcome came after a change in the fourth quarter of 2019, which was up 0.5 percent from the previous period. In current terms, the GDP reached $1.6 trillion in the year.

The figures were released today (Mar. 4) by the government’s statistics agency IBGE, which reported that agriculture increased 1.3 percent, industry 0.5 percent, and services 1.3 percent.

The country’s per capita GDP went up 0.3 percent in real terms, reaching $7,694 in 2019.

Slow growth

According to IBGE Coordinator for Domestic Accounts Rebeca Paris, even though this is the third consecutive year of growth, the Brazilian economy in 2017 and 2018 (1.3%) is still at the same level as the first quarter of 2013. “It hasn’t recovered from the losses yet,” she said, referring to the reductions reported in 2015 and 2016.

The investment rate last year stood at 15.4 percent of the GDP and beat its 2018 counterpart (15.2%). The saving rate, which had been 12.4 percent in 2018, slipped to 12.2 percent in 2019.