Rio de Janeiro - The Brazilian
economy contracted for the first time in 17 years in 2009, falling by 0.2 per cent, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said Thursday. It was the first annual contraction of gross domestic product since 1992.
Brazil's GDP fell to 3.1 trillion real (1.77 trillion dollars), leaving the country of 199 million with a per capita GDP of 9.263 dollars, the institute said. In 2008, Brazil's GDP stood at 2.9 trillion real (1.8 trillion dollars) in 2008.
The drop reflects the effects of the global
economic and
financial crisis, which were strongly felt in the South American giant in the first few months of 2009. However, fourth quarter figures show a vigorous recovery.
According to the IBGE report, GDP grew by 2 per cent in the October to December period over the previous quarter. Growth was as high as 4.3 per cent when compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the most acute phase of the crisis.
Brazilian
industry contracted by 5.5 per cent in 2009, although it recovered towards the end of the year, while
agriculture also shrank by 5.2 per cent. Only the service sector grew, by 2.6 per cent.
