RIO DE JANEIRO, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's gross domestic product grew by 1.1 percent in 2019, reaching 7.3 trillion reals (1.59 trillion U.S. dollars), according to official data.
Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said that the growth rate was the lowest registered in last three years, but within expectations.
"The growth rate was estimated to be 1 percent in the first year (of the current administration). For the second year we estimate 2 percent," said Guedes, adding that economic growth will accelerate gradually, as reforms are being implemented.
According to figures from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) released on Wednesday, all three sectors of the economy registered growth in 2019, with agriculture and services both up 1.3 percent, and industry up 0.5 percent.
The GDP growth in 2019 was mainly due to improvements in household consumption, which was up by 1.8 percent, but the consumption growth rate was the lowest since 2016 due to an unstable job market, said the IBGE.
GDP per capita had an even lower growth rate, up by merely 0.3 percent from 2018 to 34,533 reals (7,539 dollars), it added.
Officials from the IBGE noted that although Brazil has registered positive growth rates for three consecutive years, its economy has yet to recover from the recession of 2015-16.
"There have been three years of positive results, but the falls in 2015 and 2016 have not been compensated for," said IBGE representative Rebeca Palis.
In the beginning of 2019 when President Jair Bolsonaro took office, the government estimated 1.9-percent GDP growth for 2019, which was adjusted after the first quarter of the year.
Earlier on Wednesday at a press conference, Bolsonaro avoided questions about the GDP growth, a move which was severely criticized, and declined to comment on Brazil's economic perspectives.
