Brazilian Middle Class
Shrinks For The First Time In Six Years
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's middle class
registered in 2009 the first contraction in
six years, according to a study released
Wednesday by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV).
According to the FGV, the middle class
represented 53.58 percent of the Brazilian
population by the end of 2009, down from
53.81 percent of the country's population in
Dec. 2008.
The slight decrease was attributed to the
international financial crisis, which
affected the Brazilian economy, especially
in the beginning of the year. According to
Marcos Neri, FGV's Social Policies Center
coordinator, the middle class resumed its
expansion after the first months of 2009.
Despite the effects of the crisis, the
richer classes have registered expansion in
2009, totalling 15.63 percent of the
country's total population, while the poorer
classes represented 30.79 percent.
In 2003, the first year of President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva's administration, the
poorer classes represented 46.36 percent of
the Brazilian population, while the middle
class amounted to 42.99 percent and the
richer classes represented 10.66 percent.
According to the FGV, the middle or C class
is formed by the Brazilians whose income
goes from 1,115 to 4,807 reals (602 to 2,598
U.S. dollars) per month. The citizens in the
richer classes (A and B) have a monthly
income of over 4,807 reals (2,598 U.S.
dollars), while the citizens in the poorer
classes (D and E) have a monthly income of
up to 1,115 reais (602 U.S. dollars). |
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