Brazil has overtaken Britain as the world's sixth-largest economy, a leading economic research group says. Britain lost out to the South American country in 2011 and will likely slide further as faster-growing economies such as Russia and India surge ahead, according to the London-based Center for Economics and Business Research.

Great Britain has fallen to 7th place after a tough recession and a banking crash, putting it behind larger and faster-growing Brazil.

The South American country grew at a rate of three percent in 2011. For 2012, it is projected to grow five percent.

Economist Armando Castelar says the new ranking is a confidence builder for Brazil, though it is not very important overall.

"The position is more about statistics than economics," Castelar said. "The economy is what really matters." But he added, "it has a psychological effect that helps with attracting investments."

Brazil is one of the so-called BRIC countries, which includes Russia, India and China. It is an economic success due largely to exports of manufactured goods, iron ore and agricultural products to the Far East. But Brazil has big ambitions.

Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega says Brazil hopes to pass France by 2015 to become the fifth largest economy.

The economic rise in Brazil's rise has been rather swift. It passed Italy in 2010 to take seventh place. The United States, China, Japan and Germany remain the four largest national economies. But some economists say Russia and India could overtake Germany and France in the next ten years due to the continued struggle to subdue a severe debt crisis in Europe.