Brazil revises 2018 GDP growth up to 1.8%

The Brazilian government’s statistics agency IBGE announced the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 has been revised from 1.3 to 1.8 percent.

“This revision mainly stems from the incorporation of new data from the Yearly Survey on Services (PAS) and from the Income Tax into the set of service activities (+0.6%), particularly for other service activities (+2%). Services accounted for approximately two thirds of the Brazilian economy,” the IBGE stated.

According to the institute, the spikes were not enough to reverse the 6.7 percent accumulated reduction in the biennium 2015–2016. In current terms, the GDP in 2018 reached $1.26 trillion, which is equivalent to a per capita GDP of $6,073.40, up one percent. This level is reported to be similar to the one observed in 2010.

The IBGE also reported that the increase in 2018 resulted from a 1.8 percent increase in the gross  value added, especially in the services group, which was up 2.1 percent. “In 2018, 11 of the 12 groups of economic activities saw growth or stability, the only decline having been seen in construction.”