Overview: The economy, a mixture of private enterprises of all sizes and extensive government intervention, experienced enormous difficulties in the late 1980s, notably declining real growth, runaway inflation, foreign debt obligations of more than $100 billion, and uncertain economic policy. Government intervention includes trade and investment restrictions, wage/price controls, interest and exchange rate controls, and extensive tariff barriers. Ownership of major industrial facilities is divided among private interests, the government, and multinational companies. Ownership in agriculture likewise is varied, with the government intervening in the politically sensitive issues involving large landowners and the masses of poor peasants. In consultation with the IMF, the Brazilian Government has initiated several programs over the last few years to ameliorate the stagnation and foreign debt problems. None of these has given more than temporary relief. The strategy of the new Collor government is to increase the pace of privatization, encourage foreign trade and investment, and establish a more realistic exchange rate. One long-run strength is the existence of vast natural resources.

GDP: $377 billion, per capita $2,500; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1,765% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 2.5% (December 1989)

Budget: revenues $27.8 billion; expenditures $40.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $8.8 billion (1986)

Exports: $34.2 billion (1989 est.); commodities--coffee, metallurgical products, chemical products, foodstuffs, iron ore, automobiles and parts; partners--US 28%, EC 26%, Latin America 11%, Japan 6% (1987)

Imports: $18.0 billion (1989 est.); commodities--crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal; partners--Middle East and Africa 24%, EC 22%, US 21%, Latin America 12%, Japan 6% (1987)

External debt: $109 billion (December 1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 3.2% (1989 est.)

Electricity: 52,865,000 kW capacity; 202,280 million kWh produced, 1,340 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin

Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP; world's largest producer and exporter of coffee and orange juice concentrate and second-largest exporter of soybeans; other products--rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, beef; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for domestic consumption; government has an active eradication program to control cannabis and coca cultivation

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $2.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $9.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $1.3 billion

Currency: novo cruzado (plural--novos cruzados); 1 novo cruzado (NCr$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: novos cruzados (NCr$) per US$1--2.83392 (1989), 0.26238 (1988), 0.03923 (1987), 0.01366 (1986), 0.00620 (1985); note-- 25 tourist/parallel rate (December 1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Brazil on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Brazil Economy 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Brazil Economy 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.