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Economy
Home » Brazil » Brazil Overview and History » EconomyBrazil has the eleventh largest economy in the world when measured by purchasing power parity. However, 20% of its citizens, 40 million people, live below the poverty line and 10.1% of the population is unemployed. Brazil’s main industries are textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, and other machinery and equipment. Their main trading partners are the United States, Argentina, China, Netherlands, and Germany. Its major export products are airplanes, coffee, vehicles, soybeans, iron ore, orange juice, steel, textiles, footwear, and electrical equipment.
Brazil does, however, have some major economic issues to contend with. Their national debt is over R$1 trillion, which is an all time high. Add to that an increase in public expenses. Taxes are burdensome to all social classes in Brazil, but they represent a major part of national income. Brazil also faces problems with poor infrastructure, income concentration, low quality public services, widespread corruption, and government bureaucracy. These problems, among others, plague the Brazilian government and threaten the economic growth of the country.
A large number of Brazilians, over 30%, are not able to read and write. However, only 8% of these people are officially considered illiterate.
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