IB ESS HL HL.b.11 Economic growth measurement Question Bank
Practise IB ESS HL HL.b.11 by applying economic growth measurement concepts to exam-style environmental systems questions.
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2026
- Course
- ESS HL
- Level
- HL
Practise IB ESS HL HL.b.11 by applying economic growth measurement concepts to exam-style environmental systems questions.
This graph is marked in the local booklet OCR/PDF as removed for copyright reasons, so the local booklet does not contain the data needed to calculate the average annual GDP increase.
Figure: Fact file on energy and economic development in Brazil: Fact file on energy and economic development in Brazil
- Brazil has experienced fast economic growth and is one of the most influential nations in South America.
- Major industries include mining, agriculture and the manufacture of products ranging from motor vehicles and aircraft to computers.
- There has been significant growth in the service industries including the telecommunications, banking, commerce and computing sectors.
- Over 80% of Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) is generated in the Atlantic Rainforest region.
- Brazil is a major producer of oil. However about 70% of its electricity comes from hydroelectric power (HEP).
- Brazil is also the largest global producer of bioethanol, a biofuel produced from plants such as sugar cane. Over 40% of petrol (gasoline) use has been replaced by bioethanol.
- Brazil's energy policy has involved:
- improving energy efficiency.
- increasing energy production from renewable sources.
- diversification of energy sources.
[Sources: adapted from www.economywatch.com, www.nature.org, http://sugarcane.org and www.reegle.info]
Figure: GDP, energy use, life expectancy and under-5 mortality in Brazil from 1990 to 2012: GDP, energy use, life expectancy and under 5 mortality rate in Brazil from 1990 to 2012
With reference to Figure: GDP, energy use, life expectancy and under-5 mortality in Brazil from 1990 to 2012, estimate the average annual increase in gross domestic product (GDP) between 1990 and 2012.
(from Figure: GDP, energy use, life expectancy and under-5 mortality in Brazil from 1990 to 2012 GDP increase of approximately 260 % (range 250-275 % ) over 22 years, therefore average annual increase =22260% ) = 11.8 %;
Marking guidance:
Accept increase of GDP between 11-13 \% annual. Correct units (\%) are required to be credited the mark.