Brazilian GDP increased 5.1 percent in 2008

Brazil's gross domestic product grew by 5.1 percent in 2008 and reached 2.9 trillion reals (1.25 trillion dollars), the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said Tuesday. But Brazil's GDP fell 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous quarter, the largest such decline since 1996. GDP per capita grew by four percent during the one-year period to stand at 15,240 reals (6,590 dollars), the IBGE said. The investment rate grew 19 percent last year and was the highest since the IBGE began calculating it in 2000.