Strong growth and remarkable social progress over the past two decades have made Brazil one of the world’s leading economies, despite the deep recession that the economy is now emerging from. Macroeconomic stability, favourable demographic trends and external conditions allowed an expansion of private and public consumption, in the context of solid employment and wage growth. A buoyant labour market coupled with improving access to education and extensive transfer programmes allowed millions of Brazilians to move into better jobs and attain better living standards. As 25 million Brazilians have escaped poverty since 2003, growth has become much more inclusive. These are remarkable achievements.