Brazilian economy grows 3.4% in 2024, highest rise since 2021
The Brazilian economy grew by 3.4 percent in 2024, marking the largest expansion since 2021. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the total value of goods and services produced in the country, was released on Friday morning (Mar. 7) by the government´s statistics agency IBGE.
The result represents the fourth consecutive year of growth. According to IBGE, Brazil's GDP totaled BRL 11.7 trillion.
The services and industrial sectors pushed GDP up, with increases of 3.7 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, compared to 2023. In contrast, agriculture and livestock production declined by 3.2 percent.
Growth in recent years:
2020 (start of the pandemic): -3,3%
2021: 4,8%
2022: 3%
2023: 3,2%
2024: 3,4%
GDP can be calculated from either the production perspective (analyzing the performance of economic activities) or the consumption perspective (examining spending and investments).
On the production side, IBGE points out that three segments were responsible for approximately half of GDP growth in 2024:
- Other service activities (5.3%)
- Manufacturing (3.8%)
- Trade (3.8%)
Specifically within industry, the highlight was construction, up 4.3 percent.
Agriculture and livestock production declined after growing by 16.3 percent in 2023. The downturn was largely due to various climatic factors that affected key crops, with soybeans (-4.6%) and corn (-12.5%) being particularly impacted.
Consumption
On the consumption side, household consumption was the standout, growing by 4.8 percent. According to Rebeca Palis, coordinator of the IBGE's National s, this increase is attributed to the greater availability of income for the population.
“For household consumption, we saw a favorable combination of factors, including government income transfer programs, continued improvement in the job market, and interest rates that were, on average, lower than in 2023,” Palis explains.
Brazil ended 2024 with an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent, the lowest ever recorded.
Fourth quarter
In the fourth quarter, the economy expanded by 0.2 percent, reflecting considerable stability. According to Palis, one reason for the modest growth in the final three months of the year was inflation and the rise in interest rates—measures implemented by the Central Bank to curb price increases, but which had a dampening effect on economic activity.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, what stands out is that GDP remained almost stable, with growth in investments but a decline in household consumption. This was due to a slight acceleration in inflation, particularly food prices,” says Palis.
GDP per capita, calculated by dividing GDP by the population, reached BRL 55,247.45, marking a 3 percent increase compared to 2023, after adjusting for inflation.
