Brazil is currently the world’s fifth largest country by population and South America’s largest economy; that is why it is considered an important regional leader.
Although pressing problems, (e.g.: high income inequality, crime, inflation, rising unemployment, and corruption) Brazil is characterized by a large and well-developed agriculture, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, other than a rapidly expanding middle class. Over the last five years, Brazil’s economy has predominated over all the other South American countries, by expanding its presence in world markets.
However, current Brazil’s economic outlook is grim. Low commodity prices, high inflation, depressed confidence levels and political crisis have contributed to lead the economy into a deep recession.
Brazil seeks to strengthen its workforce and its economy over the long run, by imposing local content and technology transfer requirements on foreign businesses, by investing in education through social programs such as Bolsa Familia, the Brazil Science Mobility Program and lastly by investing in research in the areas of space, nanotechnology, healthcare, and energy.
The Brazilian culture is one of the world’s most varied and diverse. It is home to an estimated one-third of all known animal species due to the fact that it made up about half of the world’s rainforests.