São Paulo – The Brazilian middle class in Latin America and the Caribbean has grown by at least 50% in the last decade, according to a report released by the World Bank this Tuesday (13th). The number of people in the income bracket has gone from 103 million in 2003 to 152 million in 2009; according to the World Bank, economists have described the fact as “an historic achievement for a region long riven by wealth inequality.”
As a result, the middle class has come to comprise 30% of the population in the region. Brazil was one of the highlights, having accounted for 40% of the growth in inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean. Other highlights, according to the report, were Colombia and Mexico.
World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said the region’s experience shows the world that economic growth coupled with expanding opportunities for the most vulnerable can spread prosperity to millions of people.
“Governments in Latin America and the Caribbean still need to do much more – one third of the population is still in poverty – but we should celebrate this achievement of growing the middle class and learn from,” said the executive.
According to the World Bank, the main contributing factors to social mobility in the region included increased levels of education among workers, more people living in urban areas, more women in the labour force, and smaller families. The survey considers people who earn US$ 10 to US$ 50 a day as middle class.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
