São Paulo – Last year, the income brackets of 2.7 million Brazilians changed, as they c eased being a part of the so-called D and E classes (lower income) to join the ranks of the C class (middle class). Another 230,000 people left the C class to enter the wealthier ones (A and B).
In 2011, the majority of the population (54%) was part of the C class, whereas in 2005 most were in the D-E classes (51%). The A-B classes comprise 22% of Brazilians, another increase compared with 2005, when the rate was 15%.
The figures were culled from the Observador Brasil 2012 (2012 Brazil Observer) survey, conducted by the company Cetelem BGN, of the BNP Paribas Group, in partnership with the Ipsos Publics Affairs institute.
The survey also points out that the purchasing power has gone up in Brazil. The available income, i.e. the earnings left after expenses are discounted, has risen from 368 reals (US$ 202) in 2010 to 449 reals (US$ 246) in 2011, a 20%-plus increase. In the so-called C class, the rate of growth was 50% (from 243 to 363 reals, or US$ 133 to US$ 199).
Family income remained stable for the A-B and D-E classes, and grew by 8% for the C class. However, the survey shows that available income has grown across all classes, and increased by over 1,000 reals (US$ 549) among the richest. “The rise in available income across all social classes indicates that spending has been cut down,” according to the technicians responsible for the survey.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
