Major Nations in a Global World: Brazil

finished primary school. The poor quality of teaching is often cited as a major reason why Brazil’s schools are lackluster. That’s because most college graduates do not aspire to become teachers. Instead, the less qualified are often working in the classroom. Moreover, too many Brazilian students repeat entire school years. In fact, 15 percent of those graduating from secondary school are more than twenty-five years old. Just 42 percent of all students complete high school. Things have gotten better in the last decade or so as the government has instituted new reforms . Students have shown solid gains in reading, math- ematics, and science. Today, 97 percent of seven- to fourteen-year-olds have access to schooling, while the adult literacy rate has climbed to 90 percent and the youth literacy rate to 97 percent. Despite problems with its educational system, Brazil has one of the world’s strongest economies, ranking seventh in the world in 2014. The economic suc- cess can be seen in its cities, where modern buildings, skyscrapers, and high-end shopping centers dominate the cityscape. The streets in such cities as Rio de Janeiro are often crowded with shoppers and packed with cars and trucks, all vibrant examples of just how many middle-class residents live in the cities. The rise of the middle class is indeed an economic success story. According to some estimates, 40 million poor people made it into the middle class, while overall poverty has been reduced by 89 percent, and the unemployment rate to just under 5 percent, although by the fall of 2014 there were signs that the economy was slowing. World-famous Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro.