Brazil has a diversified mixed economy. It is the largest in Latin America, the Southern Hemisphere and the second in Americas, in nominal terms.Is Brazil's Economy Getting Too Hot? Forbes. Retrieved on 24 October 2011. As of 2026, it is an upper-middle income and developing economy with the second largest GDP in the Americas in nominal and purchasing power parity terms. It is ranked as the tenth largest economy in the world in nominal terms, and the 8th largest in PPP terms. In 2024, according to Forbes, Brazil was the 7th largest country in the world by number of billionaires. Brazil is one of the ten chief industrial states in the world according to International Labour Organization. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brazil's nominal GDP was US$2.642 trillion; the country has a long history of being among the largest economies in the world and the GDP per capita was US$12,313 per capita.

The country is rich in natural resources. From 2000 to 2012, Brazil was one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world, with an average annual GDP growth rate of over 5%. Its GDP surpassed that of the United Kingdom in 2012, temporarily making Brazil the world's sixth-largest economy. However, Brazil's economic growth decelerated in 2013 and the country entered a recession in 2014. The economy started to recover in 2017, with a 1% growth in the first quarter, followed by a 0.3% growth in the second quarter compared to the same period of the previous year. It officially exited the recession. According to data released on 3 March 2026 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Brazil's economy grew by 3.4% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025, indicating robust growth in the last two years. In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.1% compared with the third quarter, when it had also recorded growth of 0.1%, reflecting relative stability in quarterly performance.PIB do Brasil cresce 2,3% em 2025

According to the World Economic Forum, Brazil was the top country in upward evolution of competitiveness in 2009, gaining eight positions among other countries, overcoming Russia for the first time, and partially closing the competitiveness gap with India and China among the BRICS economies. Important steps taken since the 1990s toward fiscal sustainability, as well as measures taken to liberalize and open the economy, have significantly boosted the country's competitiveness fundamentals, providing a better environment for private-sector development.Global Competitiveness Report 2009–2010 World Economic Forum. Retrieved on 24 October 2011. Brazil is a member of diverse economic organizations, such as Mercosur, Prosur, G8+5, G20, WTO, Paris Club, Cairns Group, and is advanced to be a permanent member of the OECD.Brazil is invited to start the OECD accession process

From a colony focused on primary sector goods (sugar, gold and cotton), Brazil managed to create a diversified industrial base during the 20th century, including the adoption of artificial intelligence in the industrial sector, enhancing productivity and innovation. The steel industry is a prime example of that, with Brazil being the 9th largest steel producer in 2018, and the 5th largest steel net exporter in 2018. Gerdau is the largest producer of long steel in the Americas, and Vale is the largest producer of iron ore in the world. Petrobras, the Brazilian oil and gas company, is the most valuable company in Latin America.Petrobras passa a ser a empresa mais valiosa da América Latina

History

When the Portuguese explorers arrived in the 16th century, the native tribes of current-day Brazil totaled about 2.5 million people and had lived virtually unchanged since the Stone Age. From Portugal's colonization of Brazil (1500–1822) until the late 1930s, the Brazilian economy relied on the production of primary products for exports.

In the Portuguese Empire, Brazil was a colony subjected to an imperial mercantile policy, which had three main large-scale economic production cycles – sugar, gold and from the early 19th century on, coffee. The economy of Brazil was heavily dependent on African slave labor until the late 19th century (about 3 million imported African slaves in total). In that period Brazil was also the colony with the largest number of European settlers, most of them Portuguese (including Azoreans and Madeirans) but also some Dutch (see Dutch Brazil), Spaniards, English, French, Germans, Flemish, Danish, Scottish and Sephardic Jews.

Subsequently, Brazil experienced a period of strong economic and demographic growth accompanied by mass immigration from Europe, mainly from Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira), Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland, Austria and Russia. Smaller numbers of immigrants also came from the Netherlands, France, Finland, Iceland and the Scandinavian countries, Lithuania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Malta, North Macedonia and Luxembourg, the Middle East (mainly from Lebanon, Syria and Armenia), Japan, the United States and South Africa, until the 1930s. In fact, international mass immigration to Brazil during the 19th century had positive effects on the country's human capital development. Immigrants usually exhibited better formal and informal training than native Brazilians and tended to have more entrepreneurial spirit. Their arrival was beneficial for the region, not only because of the skills and knowledge they brought to the country themselves, but also because of spillover effects of their human capital to the native Brazilian population. Human capital spillover effects were strongest in regions with the highest numbers of immigrants, and the positive effects are still observable today, in some regions.

In 2007, with a population of over 190 million and abundant natural resources, Brazil is one of the ten largest markets in the world, producing tens of millions of tons of steel, 26 million tons of cement, 3.5 million television sets, and 3 million refrigerators. In addition, about 70 million cubic meters of petroleum were being processed annually into fuels, lubricants, propane gas, and a wide range of hundreds of petrochemicals.

Brazil has at least 161,500 kilometers of paved roads, more than 150 gigawatts of installed electric power capacity and its real per capita GDP surpassed US$9,800 in 2017. Its industrial sector accounts for three-fifths of the South American economy's industrial production. Brazilian government. Retrieved on 24 October 2011. The country's scientific and technological development is argued to be attractive to foreign direct investment, in 2019, Brazil occupied the 4th largest destination for foreign investments, behind only the United States, China and Singapore.

The agricultural sector, locally called the agronegócio (agro-business), has also been dynamic: for two decades this sector has kept Brazil among the most highly productive countries in areas related to the rural sector. The agricultural sector and the mining sector also supported trade surpluses which allowed for massive currency gains (rebound) and external debt paydown. Due to a downturn in Western economies, Brazil found itself in 2010 trying to halt the appreciation of the real.Brazil's Currency Wars – A "Real" Problem Sounds and Colours. Retrieved on 24 October 2011.

One of the most important corruption cases in Brazil concerns the company Odebrecht. Since the 1980s, Odebrecht has spent several billion dollars in the form of bribes to bribe parliamentarians to vote in favour of the group. At the municipal level, Odebrecht's corruption was aimed at "stimulating privatisations", particularly in water and sewer management.

Data

The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2023 (with IMF estimates for 2024–2028). Inflation below 5% is in green.

YearGDP(in bn. US$PPP)GDP per capita(in US$ PPP)GDP(in bn. US$ nominal)GDP per capita(in US$ nominal)GDP growth(real)Inflation rate(in Percent)Unemployment(in Percent)Government debt(in % of GDP)1980570.54,811.9145.81,203.69.2%90.2%n/an/a1981597.04,925.3167.61,353.0−4.4%101.7%n/an/a1982637.75,147.3179.21,415.30.6%100.6%n/an/a1983640.15,057.3143.71,110.7−3.4%135.0%n/an/a1984698.45,402.7143.01,082.25.3%192.1%n/an/a1985777.45,890.6226.91,682.87.9%226.0%n/an/a1986852.96,334.2263.31,913.37.5%147.1%n/an/a1987905.56,596.4286.52,042.93.6%228.3%n/an/a1988939.96,722.2320.12,240.50.3%629.1%n/an/a19891,008.07,083.3439.43,022.03.2%1430.7%n/an/a19901,002.16,836.1455.33,108.8−4.2%2947.7%n/an/a19911,046.77,020.5399.22,717.51.0%432.8%10.1%n/a19921,065.67,031.3382.52,561.1−0.5%952.0%11.6%n/a19931,141.77,414.4429.22,828.54.7%1927.4%11.0%n/a19941,228.37,852.0546.83,547.05.3%2075.8%10.5%n/a19951,309.48,364.1770.94,923.94.4%66.0%9.9%n/a19961,362.98,457.1851.15,281.72.2%15.8%11.2%n/a19971,433.48,757.6883.95,400.03.4%6.9%11.6%n/a19981,454.58,749.7864.35,199.50.3%3.2%14.7%n/a19991,481.98,816.5599.63,567.60.5%4.9%14.7%n/a20001,581.99,328.0655.53,864.94.4%7.0%13.9%65.6%20011,640.19,536.6560.03,256.21.4%6.8%12.5%70.1%20021,716.59,852.9509.82,926.33.1%8.5%13.0%78.8%20031,770.310,037.8558.23,165.21.1%14.7%13.7%73.8%20041,922.610,772.3669.33,750.15.8%6.6%12.9%70.1%20052,046.311,334.1891.64,938.53.2%6.9%11.4%68.6%20062,193.112,012.31,107.66,067.04.0%4.2%11.5%65.8%20072,389.012,949.01,397.17,572.66.1%3.6%10.9%64.1%20082,558.913,726.51,695.99,096.95.1%5.7%9.4%62.3%20092,572.113,638.51,669.28,851.1−0.1%4.9%9.7%65.5%20102,798.914,672.82,208.711,578.77.5%5.0%8.5%63.0%20112,970.615,491.02,614.013,631.44.0%6.6%7.8%61.2%20122,998.515,555.62,464.112,782.81.9%5.4%7.4%62.2%20133,133.916,168.62,471.712,752.33.0%6.2%7.2%60.2%20143,187.216,352.32,456.112,601.30.5%6.3%6.9%62.3%20153,014.815,379.91,800.09,183.0−3.5%9.0%8.6%72.6%20162,939.114,915.41,796.69,117.6−3.3%8.7%11.7%78.3%20173,018.715,242.72,063.510,419.61.3%3.4%12.9%83.6%20183,146.415,805.91,916.99,629.61.8%3.7%12.4%85.6%20193,241.916,176.01,873.39,364.21.2%3.7%12.0%87.1%20203,335.916,063.91,476.17,057.5−3.3%3.2%13.8%96.0%20213,787.718,028.31,670.67,952.65.0%8.3%13.2%90.1%20224,180.219,824.71,951.09,256.33.0%9.4%9.3%85.3%20234,456.621,052.92,173.810,268.03.2%3.7%8.3%88.0%20244,702.022,123.52,188.410,296.23.5%3.4%8.2%90.3%20254,890.922,928.12,307.110,816.82.2%3.3%8.1%92.4%20265,094.023,799.32,444.911,423.82.3%3.0%8.1%93.9%20275,309.524,728.82,571.511,977.42.4%3.0%8.0%95.0%20285,539.325,724.62,709.512,583.12.5%3.0%7.9%96.0%20295,780.426,771.92,854.913,222.92.5%3.0%7.2%98.0%

The daily median per person income was $15.74 PPP in 2023.

Sectors The service sector is the largest component of the gross domestic product (GDP) at 67.0 percent, followed by the industrial sector at 27.5 percent. Agriculture represents 5.5 percent of GDP (2011). The Brazilian labor force is estimated at 100.77 million of which 10 percent is occupied in agriculture, 19 percent in the industry sector and 71 percent in the service sector.

Agricultural, animal husbandry and forestry

+Agriculture production Main products Soybeans, maize, sugarcane, coffee, beef, chicken meat, cellulose, cotton, cocoa, citrus (orange, lemon), pineapple Labor force 15.7% of total labor forceGDP of sector 5.9% of total GDP

Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugarcane, soy, coffee, orange, guaraná, açaí and Brazil nut; is one of the top 5 producers of maize, papaya, tobacco, pineapple, banana, cotton, beans, coconut, watermelon and lemon; is one of the top 10 world producers of cocoa, cashew, avocado, tangerine, persimmon, mango, guava, rice, sorghum and tomato; and is one of the top 15 world producers of grape, apple, melon, peanut, fig, peach, onion, palm oil and natural rubber.