Brazil's Economy Moves Forward

With large amounts of minerals and natural resources, the South American country of Brazil has received large amounts of attention as it economy continues to expand at a rather rapid pace. In 2010, the Brazil economy grew by a large 7.5 percent and has been named one of the key “BRIC” economies of the world along with Russia, India, and China. Brazil’s economic growth has far outpaced the United States and has also positioned Brazil as the world’s sixth-largest economy, just passing the United Kingdom’s economy this last year. Although Brazil’s economy slowed to a lessened growth of 3.5 percent in 2011, many external factors were said to cause this decline in growth with the main reason being the financial crisis in Europe affecting the global economy. However, Brazil’s economic future looks very positive with many factors allowing the Brazilian economy to move forward.

Brazil’s vast domestic market is one of the key aspects of its economic success thus far. With a population of 195 million, there is a large market in Brazil and the large population helps shield Brazil from global economic storms. Additionally, the economy in Brazil is not entirely dependent upon exports with exports only accounting for 14 percent of its economy. However, exports are important and Brazil will definitely try to increase its exports. Brazil’s economy has also been aided by the continued discovery of oil and gas reserves along its coast. Brazil is now the world’s ninth largest oil producer and the government has plans to ultimately enter the top five. With all these factors helping the Brazilian economy, there are still some problems that can be resolved to further advance the economy.

One problem for Brazil is the lack of an effective public transport network in one of Brazil’s largest cities, Rio de Janeiro. The city, with over 6.1 million people, has just one underground train line. As a result, traffic jams occur frequently and provide serious problems for people working in the city. However with the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics being hosted in Brazil, the government is investing large sums of money to improve Brazil’s transportation.  Another problem in Brazil is the country’s extremely complicated tax system with more than 60 different types of taxes and import tariffs. The tax system will most likely be simplified and improved in the future but in the meantime it has not stopped many companies from starting business in Brazil. If Brazil is able to correct these various problems, its economy future will surely be bright as predicted.