RIO DE JANEIRO, July 16 (Xinhua) -- More than two in five Brazilian adults had some type of debt during the first half of this year, a report released by an industrial association on Monday said.
The figure amounts to 63.6 million delinquent consumers, or 42 percent of brazilian adults, an increase of 4.07 percent from the same period last year.
The estimates were based on data from the National Confederation of Store Managers and Credit Protection Service of Brazil.
"The report shows the difficulties that a good portion of the population has returned to a pre-crisis economic situation which began in the second quarter of 2014. The high unemployment rate and low consumer and commercial confidence indexes are a reflection of this difficult situation," Joao Carvalho, from the economic consulting firm K2 Partnering Solutions, told Xinhua.
The southeast region, the wealthiest and most populated in Brazil, saw the largest increase in the number of delinquent consumers during the first half of this year with 9.88 percent, followed by the northeast with a 4.81 percent increase.
"It is worrisome that the delinquency rate grew in all regions of the country and for the time being there is no indication the situation will get better," Carvalho said.
After overcoming its worst economic crisis in history between 2015 and 2016, Brazil's economy grew 1 percent last year. However, its high unemployment rate remains above 10 percent, and lower domestic consumption has made its economic recovery difficult in 2018.
