BRICS
Association of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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BRICS is a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa formed by the 2010 addition of South Africa to the predecessor BRIC.[1][2][3][4] The original acronym "BRIC", or "the BRICs", was coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill to describe fast-growing economies that he predicted would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050.[5]
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa | |
The BRICS leaders in 2023, from left to right: Lula da Silva, Xi Jinping, Cyril Ramaphosa, Narendra Modi and Sergey Lavrov (representing Vladimir Putin). | |
 Map key:
Member states
States slated to join on January 1, 2024 | |
| Abbreviation | BRICS |
|---|---|
| Named after | Member states' initials (in English) |
| Predecessor | BRIC |
| Formation | September 2006 (17 years ago) (September 2006) (UNGA 61st session) 1st BRIC summit: 16 June 2009 (14 years ago) (16 June 2009) |
| Founder | UNGA 61st session: 1st BRIC summit: |
| Founded at | UN HQ, NYC (UNGA 61st session) Yekaterinburg (1st BRIC summit) |
| Type | Intergovernmental organization |
| Purpose | Political and economical |
| Fields | International politics |
Membership (2023) | 5 |
| Funding | Member states |
| Website | https://brics2023.gov.za/ |
Formerly called | BRIC |
The BRICS nations encompass about 27% of the world's land surface and 42% of the global population.[lower-alpha 1] Brazil, Russia, India, and China are among the world's ten largest countries by population, area, and GDP (PPP), and China is widely considered to be current superpowers or is still emerging. All five states are members of the G20, with a combined nominal GDP of US$28 trillion (about 27% of the gross world product), a total GDP (PPP) of around US$57 trillion (33% of global GDP PPP), and an estimated US$4.5 trillion in combined foreign reserves (as of 2018).[7][8]
The BRICS were originally identified for the purpose of highlighting investment opportunities and had not been a formal intergovernmental organization.[9] Since 2009, they have increasingly formed into a more cohesive geopolitical bloc, with their governments meeting annually at formal summits and coordinating multilateral policies. Bilateral relations among BRICS are conducted mainly on the basis of non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit.[10]
The BRICS nations are considered a geopolitical rival to the G7 bloc of leading advanced economies, announcing competing initiatives such as the New Development Bank, the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, the BRICS payment system, the BRICS Joint Statistical Publication and the BRICS basket reserve currency. Since 2022, the group has sought to expand membership, with several developing countries expressing interest in joining.[11] BRICS have received both praise[12][13][14][15] and criticism[16][17][18] from numerous commentators.
In August 2023, at the 15th BRICS Summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been invited to join the bloc. Full membership will take effect on 1 January 2024.[19][20]