27 Dec 2011

Brazil moves up world economic league table

8:27 am on 27 December 2011

An economic research group says Brazil has overtaken Britain as the world's sixth largest economy.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) says its latest World Economic League Table shows Asian countries moving up and European countries falling back.

The United States is the largest economy, followed by China, Japan, Germany, France and Brazil, with the UK seventh on the table.

Brazil's economy grew by 7.5% last year, but the government has cut its growth forecast for 2011 to 3.5% after the economy ground to a halt in the third quarter, the BBC reports.

Analysts blamed the country's high interest rates and the worsening situation in the eurozone for the slowdown.

The research group said the eurozone economy would shrink 0.6% in 2012 if the euro problem is solved - or 2% if it is not.

It also predicts the British economy will overtake France by 2016 and that Russia and India will be in the top five economies by 2020.