Discovering South America: Brazil

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The Economy: Powerhouse Potential

Quick Facts: The Economy of Brazil

Gross domestic product (GDP*): $2.416 trillion GDP per capita: $12,100 Inflation: 3.6%

transportation and communication companies; schools, hospitals, and government agencies; tourism Foreign trade: Exports— $244.8 billion: transport equip- ment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos Imports— $241.4 billion: machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics Currency exchange rate: 2.70 reals = US $1 (January 2015).

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, plat- inum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber Agriculture (5.5% of GDP): coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugar- cane, cocoa, citrus, beef Industry (26.4% of GDP): textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehi- cles and parts, other machinery and equipment Services (68.1% of GDP): banks,

* GDP = total value of goods and services produced annually. All figures are 2013 estimates unless otherwise noted. Sources: CIA World Factbook 2014; Bloomberg.com

export earnings. Brazil is one of the world’s largest exporters of iron ore, and an important source of gold, tin, and manganese. Bauxite, nickel, zinc, copper, and the metallic element molybdenum are also mined. Overall, Brazil produces 90 percent of the world’s supply of gems, including diamonds, topazes, and emeralds. Oil was first discovered in northeastern Brazil in 1939. Offshore oil fields account for about 85 percent of production and contain about 80 percent of Brazil’s known reserves (estimated at 13.15 billion barrels in 2014). In 2007, the national oil company Petrobras announced that it had found an enor-