Half of Brazilians Are Now Middle Class, But 40% Are Still Very Poor

Family of Brazilians 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.

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil’s Embargo-Proof Cattle

Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and cattle ranchers are joining forces in an effort to ...

Industry of Fear Thrives in Brazil

The original target was to collect 80,000 weapons by the end of the year. ...

Brazil’s Year Surplus Grows to US$ 22.1 Billion

Brazil’s net government debt stood at US$ 327.9 billion (941.3 billion reais) in August, ...

Brazil’s Vote Buying Probe Hears Main Actors

Brazil’s Parliamentary Investigative Commission (CPI), which is investigating a supposed payoff scheme in Congress, ...

Florida Professor Accused of Using Brazilians as Guinea Pigs

There are reports that the inhabitants of a riverside village, São Raimundo do Pirativa, ...

With a Little State Help, Brazil’s Semi-Arid Backlands Are Blooming

It is after 1 p.m. and the sun is hard on the landscape. By ...

Brazil: Animal Rites and No Right to Dissent

On an unseasonably hot September Sunday afternoon I was relaxing in the garden with ...

Brazil’s Surplus at US$ 38 Billion for Last 12 Months

Brazil’s trade surplus (exports minus imports) amounted to US$ 3.452 billion in May, lifting ...

In Africa, Lula Gets Backing of Cameroon for Brazil’s UN Ambitions

President Lula left this morning to Nigeria, the second stop of his African trip, ...

Brazil to Provide 70% of a US$ 100 Million Mercosur Fund

The general undersecretary for South America in Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, José Eduardo ...