INTRODUCTION

With a land mass of 8.5 million square kilometers, more than 150 million inhabitants and a GDP in excess of US$ 500 billion, Brazil stands out among the Latin American countries.

BRAZIL AND SELECTED COUNTRIES AREA, POPULATION AND GDP - 1994

Country	Area (thousands of km2)	Population (millions)	GDP (US$ billions)
Argentina	2,767	33.9	281.9
BRAZIL	8,512	153.7	528.3
Chile	757	14	52.2
Colombia	1,139	32.8	16.6
Mexico	1,958	86.3	377.1
Peru	1,285	22.1	50.0
Uruguay	177	3.2	15.5
Venezuela	912	19.8	58.4

Source: Central Bank

With the exception of the 1980s and early 1990s, Brazil's GDP has grown faster than the world average GDP and faster than that of many developed countries.

ANNUAL GDP GROWTH RATE, 1870-1994
SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country	Yearly Average(%)
BRAZIL	4.2
Japan	3.8
USA	3.3
Mexico	3.2
Germany	2.8

Source: World Bank

• Brazil's annual average GDP growth during the last 45 years has been greater than the average GDP growth of the rest of Latin America.

GDP GROWTH RATE, 1950-1994
LATIN AMERICA

Country	Yearly Average (%) 1950-1994
BRAZIL	5.3
LATIN AMERICA except Brazil*	3.6
TOTAL LATIN AMERICA*	4.1

For 1960-94, including Caribbean.
Source: World Bank

 

• Brazil has a diversified, integrated economy similar to that of the average developed economy.

GDP - By Kind of Economic Activity - 1991 (%)

	Brazil	Developed Countries	Developing Countries
Agriculture	8.0	2.4	17.0
Industry	24.0	26.2	27.5
Services	62.0	65.3	48.1
Construction	6.0	6.1	7.4

Source: UNCTAD

• It has a solid industrial base with significant foreign capital participation.

GRAPHIC 1