After dropping for two consecutive years, 2015 (-3.5%) and 2016 (-3.3%), the Brazilian GDP grew once again in volume: 1.3% in 2017 compared with 2016. Among the Federation Units, only Rio de Janeiro (-1.6%), Sergipe (-1.1%) and Paraíba (-0.1%) registered negative changes, ranking, respectively, in the 27th, 26th and 25th positions in variation of volume.

In 10 out of the 18 Federation Units whose change in volume of the GDP was higher than in Brazil, the performance of Agriculture was key to these results. The four biggest figures in volume came from Mato Grosso, Piauí, Rondônia and Maranhão.

Between 2016 and 2017, the Southeast and Central-West lost share in the national GDP, pressed by São Paulo, Mato Grosso and the Federal District. The Federation Units that gained share were Pará, Santa Catarina, Pernambuco, Minas Gerais and Rondônia.

Despite recording its smallest share in the time series, the Southeast remained concentrating more than half of the national GDP in 2017 (52.9%).

The Brazilian per capita GDP was of R$31,702 in 2017, a change of 4.2% in value over 2016. The Federal District remained as the highest per capita GDP in Brazil (R$80,502), nearly 2.5 times the Brazilian per capita GDP.

Despite remaining as the major component (44.4%), the analysis of the GDP under the point of view of income showed that 2017 marked the first time in which the compensation of the employed persons lost share in relation to the previous year, due to the drop in the number of persons employed with a formal contract.

This information is available in Regional Accounts 2017, produced in partnership with State Statistical Offices, State Government Departments and the Superintendence of the Manaus Free Trade Zone - SUFRAMA. The support material is on the right side.

Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe and Paraíba are in the lowest positions of the ranking of change in volume of the GDP

After dropping for two consecutive years, 2015 (-3.5%) and 2016 (-3.3%), the Brazilian GDP grew once again in volume: 1.3% in 2017 compared with 2016. Among the Federation Units, only Rio de Janeiro (-1.6%), Sergipe (-1.1%) and Paraíba (-0.1%) registered negative changes.

Of the other 24 Federation Units, only Roraima and the Federal District did not record a fall in volume in 2016, i.e., 22 states increased their volume after two years of drop.

Rio de Janeiro was the only state that posted a negative change in Agriculture (-2.0%), Industry (-3.1%) and Services (-1.5%) and it was strongly affected by the performance of the activities: Administrative, scientific and technical, and professional activities and complementary services (-8.2%), Construction (-14.8%), Trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (-2.5%) and Administration, defense, public health and education, and social security (-0.7%), which, together, added up to 48.5% of its economy in 2016.

On the other hand, most of the negative results in Sergipe and Paraíba were due to the retraction of Industry, as a result of the sector of Construction, with results of -13.2% and -11.2%, respectively. In addition, the power plant of Xingó in Sergipe reduced the production of electricity and the manufacturing industries in Paraíba reduced their production.

Ranked in the 24th position, Bahia remained stable (0.0%), as the drop in Industry (-2.9%) was offset by the increases in Agriculture (7.1%) and Services (0.2%).

São Paulo, the biggest economy in Brazil, stood in the 22nd position, having changed 0.3% in 2017. The major negative results for the state were Construction (-8.5%), Financial activity, insurance and related services (-3.3%) and Information and communication services (-1.4%). The performance of Construction followed the national picture (-9.2%) and the state accrued a drop of 23.4% since 2014. In the case of financial activities, the performance in volume was related to the reduction of the credit operations for the second year in a row, as well as the reduction of the Selic rate, since São Paulo accounts for more than 50% of the Brazilian financial activities.

Agriculture leverages growth of GDP of 10 of 18 states with higher volume

In 10 out of the 18 Federation Units whose change in volume of the GDP was higher than that of Brazil, the performance of Agriculture was key, including the support to cropping and post-harvesting, which were affected by unfavorable climate conditions in 2016.

As a result, the four biggest results in volume (Mato Grosso, Piauí, Rondônia and Maranhão) were strongly influenced by Agriculture, especially the crops of corn, cotton and soybeans, as well as the production of milk in Rondônia. Only Mato Grosso and Rondônia registered an increase in volume in Industry (2.0% and 8.1%, respectively), much influenced by the increase in the production of electricity in the power plants of Teles Pires in Mato Grosso and Santo Antônio and Jirau in Rondônia. On the other hand, Piauí and Maranhão recorded a decline of 3.8% and 3.5% in the industrial sector, respectively, influenced by Construction: -9.8% and -10.2%.

In Services, the four states with the highest results posted an increase in volume: Mato Grosso, 3.2%; Piauí, 2.0%; Rondônia, 1.6%; and Maranhão, 4.1%. The results of 4.9%, 3.0% and 6.2% of Trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles were key to Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Maranhão. In Piauí, the activity of Housing and food registered the biggest growth: 10.2%.

Having ranked in the fifth position in the change in volume of the GDP in 2017, Amazonas had its result influenced by the performance of the Manufacturing industries (11.2%), related to the manufacture of computer equipment and Trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (7.5%), which, together, accounted for 38.5% of its economy in 2016.

Among the 18 Federation Units whose changes in volume of the GDP were higher than that of Brazil, the nine states with a negative change in volume in Industry had their results strongly influenced by the performance of Construction in 2017, following the national picture.

São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso and the Federal District lose share in GDP

Between 2016 and 2017, the Southeast and Central-West lost share in the national GDP. The lost of share of São Paulo (-0.3 percentage points) leveraged the drop in the region. In the Central-West, Mato Grosso and the Federal District lost 0.1 p.p. each. Minas Gerais gained 0.1 p.p., whereas the other states maintained their shares.

Despite the gain of 0.1 p.p. of Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul lost an equal share, maintaining the South stable. The North and Northeast gained 0.2 p.p. each, being the shares in 2017 the biggest in the time series: 5.6% and 14.5%, respectively.

The loss of 0.3 p.p. in São Paulo was mainly explained by Financial activity, insurance and related services, due to its reduction in the participation in the credit and deposit operations in Brazil. Construction also influenced the relative performance of São Paulo, since this activity reduced by 0.8 p.p. its weight in the total Brazilian economy between 2016 and 2017, and the state participates with nearly 30% of this activity.

Agriculture was the major influence in the losses of share of Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso, due to the reduction in the prices of its major products in 2017: corn, soybeans and rice, and, in the case of Mato Grosso, upland cotton.

The reduction in the segments of petroleum refining and coke and manufacture of organic and inorganic chemicals in Manufacturing industries also contributed to the loss of share of Rio Grande do Sul, being not offset by the gain of share of the manufacture of machinery and equipment and of the Construction activity. In Mato Grosso, the loss of share was also motivated by the drop in the manufacture of food products in the Manufacturing industries.

The loss of 0.1 p.p. of share reported in the Federal District was related to the reduction of the share in taxes, net of subsidies, on products, an effect of the drop in the collection of the Tax on Financial Operations - IOF, since the Federal District maintained the share in the total value added of Brazil.

Mining of iron ore and Belo Monte help Pará to rise in ranking of GDP share

The Federation Units that advanced in the share were Pará (0.2 p.p.), Santa Catarina (0.1 p.p.), Pernambuco (0.1 p.p.), Minas Gerais (0.1 p.p.) and Rondônia (0.1 p.p).

The gain of 0.2 p.p. in share of Pará moved it from the 12th to the 11th relative position, a position occupied by Ceará in 2016. The result of Pará was due to the gain in Mining and quarrying industries (0.7 p.p.), especially the mining and pelletizing of iron ore, which benefited from the rise of 12.3% in reais in the price of iron ore between 2016 and 2017, coupled with the increase in the production with the operation of the S11D Complex in the end of 2016. The 2.9 p.p. gain in the share in the activity of Electricity and gas, water, sewage, waste management activities and decontamination also contributed to the performance of Pará, since the state increased the production with the increase in the number of turbines in operation in the Belo Monte power plant along 2017.

Santa Catarina, which had lost the 6th relative position to Bahia in 2016, became the 6th biggest GDP in 2017, a position it occupied since 2011. The gain in the share of Santa Catarina was related to the advance of 0.5 p.p. in the Manufacturing industries, mainly in basic metals, manufacture of wood products, except furniture, as well as to the increase in the share in the total taxes on products, net of subsidies, in Brazil.

The advance of Pernambuco (0.1 p.p.) was explained by the Manufacturing industries, leveraged by the segment of manufacture of cars, pick ups and SUVs, a segment in which the state already accounted for nearly 30% in 2017.

The increase in the share of Minas Gerais, in turn, was mainly related to the Mining and quarrying industries which, like Pará, benefited from the rise in the price of iron ore in 2017. This state advanced 0.4 p.p. in Brazil in the activity of Manufacturing industries, due to the manufacture of food products and basic metals.

Rondônia, which gained 0.1 p.p. between 2016 and 2017, advanced due to Electricity and gas, water, sewage, waste management activities and decontamination, as a result of the increase in the production in the power plants of Santo Antônio and Jirau in 2017, two of the five largest power generators in Brazil.

Even losing share, Southeast still concentrates more than half of GDP

Despite recording its smallest share in the time series, the Southeast remained concentrating more than half of the national GDP in 2017 (52.9%).

São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the first and second economies in Brazil, were the two states that mostly lost share in the GDP between 2002 and 2017. In São Paulo, which lost 2.7 p.p., the reduction was mainly concentrated on Agriculture, Manufacturing industries and Construction. In Rio de Janeiro, which reduced its share by 2.2 p.p., the biggest relative lost was in Mining and quarrying industries: the state represented 60.0% of the national activity in 2002 and had it changed to 31.0% in 2017.

Federal District remains as the highest per capita GDP

The per capita GDP in Brazil was R$31,702 in 2017, having changed 4.2% in value over 2016 (R$30,422). The Federal District remained as the highest per capita GDP in Brazil (R$80,502), nearly 2.5 times the Brazilian per capita GDP.

After the Federal District, the highest per capita GDP in 2017 were, in order, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná. Among the seven highest per capita GDPs, only Santa Catarina rose one position between 2016 and 2017, surpassing Mato Grosso. Compared with 2002, Mato Grosso was the state that mostly advanced its relative position, changing from the 11th to the 5th position in 2017.

Maranhão (27th) and Piauí (26th), in turn, were the lowest per capita GDPs in Brazil in 2017. These two states never left the two last positions since 2002, though sometimes they had exchanged positions. Although highlighting as one of the lowest per capita GDPs along the time series, Piauí was the state in which the nominal value of this indicator mostly increased, rising 5.8 times between 2002 and 2017: from R$2,441 to R$14,090.

Among the regions, the Southeast, South and Central-West registered a higher per capita GDP than the national average in 2017. In those regions, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Goiás recorded a lower indicator than the national one. The states in the North and Northeast posted a per capita GDP lower than the national average along the whole time series. In the North, 2017 was the first year in which Amazonas occupied the first position in the ranking of per capita GDP in the region, standing behind Rondônia and Roraima. In the Northeast, Sergipe, which occupied the first position since 2002, lost it to Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte in 2016, becoming the third state in the region since then.

Compensation of employed persons loses share for the first time in the time series

Despite remaining as the major component (44.4%), the analysis of the GDP under the point of view of income showed that 2017 marked the first time in which the compensation of the employed persons lost share in relation to the previous year. The reduction was due to the drop in the number of employed persons with a formal contract, which made the nominal growth of the compensation (4.2%) inferior the 8.0% of the taxes net of subsidies on production and imports and the 4.8% of the gross operating surplus plus the gross mixed income.

In the analysis by Major Region, the compensation of employed persons only gained share in the South and Central-West between 2016 and 2017. That relative gain was due to the smaller increase of the gross operating surplus plus the gross mixed income in the period, mainly due to the loss in the gross value added of Agriculture, as a result of the drop in the prices of the major agricultural products.

The Southeast showed a behavior similar to the result of Brazil, with the compensation of employed persons losing share between 2016 and 2017: from 44.5% to 43.9%. The result of the Southeast was mainly influenced by Rio de Janeiro, which registered a steeper reduction in the wages in the activities of Manufacturing industries and Construction.

The Northeast, which held the biggest weight of the compensation of employed persons in the GDP along the time series, changed from 47.3% in 2016 to 46.8% in 2017 and was surpassed by the Central-West (47.0%). In Piauí, Paraíba and Sergipe, the relative value of the compensation of employed persons was higher than 50%, which was justified, to a large extent, by the weight of the public administration in these states. In the North, the share in the compensation of employed persons was also more expressive in Roraima (60.3%), Acre (54.5%) and Amapá (55.1%), states characterized by a lower share in the national GDP and by the relatively big weight of the activity of Administration, defense, public health and education, and social security in their economies.