Brazil: World Fifth Economy by 2015
Brasilia, Dec 28. -Minister of Finance Guido Mantega said that Brazil will outpace France and will become the fifth largest economy worldwide by 2015, only led by the United States, China, Japan and Germany.In remarks to journalists in Sao Paulo, Mantega said that this is a forecast made by the International Monetary Fund, but he personally considers that Brazil will outpace France earlier than expected because of difficulties to be faced by the European nations in the next few years due to the financial crisis.
On Monday, a study by the Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) revealed that Brazil outpaced the United Kingdom as the sixth largest economy in the planet, but it seems that Brazil will climb a little further in the next few years.
"Our growth pace will double that of European countries. Therefore, we will inexorably outpace France, and who knows, maybe Germany, if it fails to improve its performance," said Mantega.
He estimated the Gross Domestic Product of European countries at about 2 percent in the next few years while that of Brazil is expected to reach 4-4.5 percent.
He admitted, though, that it will take Brazil about 20 years to reach the standard of living of Europe. "Brazil needs to invest more in social and economic fields so that Brazilian citizens can reach the standard of living prevailing in Europe," said Mantega. (Prensa Latina)
