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Brazil officially a 'middle class country'

Catherine Deshayes

Brazil is now a middle class country, according to weekly newspaper the Economist, which found the proportion of the population who have a job in the formal economy, access to credit allowance and ownership of a car or motorbike has risen to more than half, pushing Brazil into the ‘middle class' bracket.

Research carried out by Fundacao Getulio Vargas, (FGV) a nonprofit higher education institution and the largest provider of online education in Brazil, the percentage of the population earning between £310 to £1,337 per month has risen since 2002 from 44 per cent to 52 per cent, making Brazil officially a middle-class country.

Today, Brazil is an industrial power with the largest population in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is continuing to make important economic, social and environmental advances.

The country is also increasing its participation in the international community, assuming a leadership role in areas such as climate change, trade, biofuels, AIDS, biodiversity and social technology.

Traditionally, its poverty levels were high, with more than 52 per cent of the population living in poverty (measured by those on minimum wage) in the early 1990's, with 8.8 per cent living in extreme poverty, surviving on less than 50 pence per day.

By 2005, poverty had declined to 38 per cent, and extreme poverty had also fallen, affecting just 4.2 per cent of the population, which met the Millennium Development Goal.

The term middle class is given to people who have a job, own a car or motorbike and have access to credit allowance.

The tip into official middle class-dom is mainly due to two factors, according to FGV.

The first is education. Although the standard of education is still lower than developed countries standards, Brazilians now spend an average of three years more in schools then they did in the 1990s.

The second factor is the increase of jobs in the formal employment sector - 40 per cent more in July this year than in July 2007 - which has also boosted the economy and contributed to the ascent to middle class.

As credit allowance soared by 20 per cent until July this year, buying an apartment and a car are still topping Brazilians wish list. Around 70 per cent of Brazilians now own their homes.

According to news agency Reuters, on a report on Brazil's economic situation, the country has an especially attractive investment appeal, despite its reliance on oil and other commodities.

Brazilian Real is now one of the strongest currencies in the world and as the currency interest rates start to come down, it will stimulate even more the domestic consumption.

Despite house prices doubling in value over the last three years, the market remains very much in its infancy, with mortgages only introduced fairly recently. Thus, it is still possible to pick up an investment property at a bargain price, and interest rates have fallen dramatically.

Browse Brazil real estate for sale.

Picture by ameliaabra