The middle class in Brazil has grown since 2003 when Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva first took office and now represents almost half of the country’s population, according to a report from the Getúlio Vargas foundation released over the weekend.
The close to 91 million Brazilians (49.22% of the total population) who now are part of the middle class, and are known in Brazil as class C, absorb 46% of the country’s national income with average per capita ranging from US$ 586 to US$ 2.530, adds the report published in Sunday’s O Globo edition.
In 2003, according to the report, the Brazilian middle class totaled 64.1 million people equivalent to 37.56% of the total population and had a 37% share of the national income.
However in spite of the impressive social advance, the least favored of the population remains as a majority representing 40% of total population.
The Getúlio Vargas foundation said that 70 million people have incomes below the equivalent of US$ 586 and many of them depend on different government subsidies to guarantee their subsistence.
The inequality is even more evident by comparing income at the cusp of the social pyramid with 19.4 million people (10.42% of the population) which have a 44% share of Brazil’s national income.
