River in the federal state of Amazonia, Brazil

Brazil An emerging economy experiencing difficult times

Brazil is the biggest country in South America; in terms of area it is the fifth-biggest country on Earth and in terms of population the sixth biggest.

Brazil's gross national income, which was about 1.753 trillion US dollars in 2022 (expressed in current US dollars), makes it one of the world's largest economies. The country has the greatest wealth of biodiversity anywhere in the world, the biggest remaining area of rainforest and also, with the Amazon, the largest river by discharge volume.

In international peace and security policy, in world trade, and above all in global forest conservation and climate action, Brazil plays an important role. The country has a key role in Latin America. Brazil is actively involved in the BRICS association of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and in the G20. Brazil has assumed the G20 Presidency for 2024.

The country's society and economy were hit very hard by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the economy recovered relatively quickly from the slump caused by the pandemic. Growth in 2023 was almost 3 per cent. The forecast for 2024 is 1.7 per cent.

News

Press release 30 January 2023

200 million euros for emergency programme with BrazilInternal link
Press release 27 January 2023

German Development Minister Schulze visits BrazilInternal link
Press release 1 January 2023

New start for the Amazon Fund: Development Ministry makes 35 million euros available to protect the rainforest in BrazilInternal link
16 November 2022

Statement by German Development Minister Svenja Schulze on the cooperation with the new Brazilian government under President Lula da SilvaInternal link

German development cooperation with Brazil

Cover: Shaping the future together – strategic cooperation with global partners

Because of its key role in international politics, Brazil is an important global partner for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Because of the country's strategic significance for climate action and for protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity, cooperation with Brazil aimed at fostering sustainable development is accompanied by a close political dialogue.

The shared long-term overarching goal of Germany's cooperation with Brazil is the protection of global goods and global values in line with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In keeping with the principle of leaving no one behind, disadvantaged population groups and the protection of human rights – especially the rights of Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities – are a particular focus of German activities.

In December 2023, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a number of his ministers visited Berlin. In that context, President Lula and Chancellor Olaf Scholz concluded a Brazilian-German Partnership for a Socially Just and Ecological Transformation. In the following areas, among others, the BMZ is making important contributions towards filling this Partnership with life: forest conservation, renewable energy, sustainable urban and economic development, and support for gender equality.

German-Brazilian cooperation focuses on the following core areas:

Conserving nature and natural resources, protecting life on Earth
Areas of intervention: forests, biodiversity
Climate and energy, just transition
Areas of intervention: renewable energy and energy efficiency, sustainable urban development

In addition, the BMZ is also engaged in the fields of vocational education and training, and “green” financing.

In view of the country's own capacities, the main instrument on which German development cooperation with Brazil relies – apart from technical assistance and grants for Brazilian programmes and funds – is reduced-interest loans for measures to foster development.

In November 2023, Brazil received a commitment from Germany for funding of up to 561 million euros. This commitment consisted of 523.5 million euros for Financial Cooperation and 37.5 million euros for Technical Cooperation.

Aerial view of the rainforest in the Anavilhanas National Park in Manaus, Brazil

Covering an area of just under five million square kilometres, Brazil's tropical forests make up about 12 per cent of the world's total forest area. They are home to the biggest range of biodiversity anywhere in the world. The BMZ has been providing various kinds of support since the 1990s aimed at assisting the Brazilian government in protecting the tropical rainforest and using it in a responsible way.

Wind farm in Osório, in the South of Brazil

Brazil's climate and geography have endowed it with enormous energy resources and huge potential for the development of renewable energy. The share of renewable energy is about 47 per cent in final energy consumption, and about 90 per cent in electricity. This means that Brazil is already a world leader in renewable energy. Germany is assisting Brazil in making its energy supply more efficient and in increasing the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix even as overall energy demand continues to grow.

Triangular cooperation Sharing experience

Symbolic image: bridge in Hanoi, Vietnam

Brazil is an important partner for the BMZ when it comes to supporting joint development programmes in third countries; this is known as triangular cooperation. Such programmes focus on the sharing of experience between an emerging economy, an industrialised country and a third, poorer country.

For instance, Germany and Brazil are jointly supporting programmes in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean – in fields such as environmental technology, decentralised energy generation and agricultural production.