BRICS is a grouping of the world economies 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] The 15th BRICS summit in 2023 saw the expansion of the organization for the first time since the inclusion of South Africa.
| Flag | Country | Capital | Area (km2) | Population (2016) | Density (/km2) | GDP per cap. (PPP)[6] | HDI[7] | Currency | Leaders | Accession | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil Federative Republic of Brazil | 8,515,767 | 203,062,512 | 25 | Brazilian real (R$) (BRL) | Portuguese also see Languages of Brazil | Head of State | 2009-06-16 (Informally, September 2006) | |||||
| Russia Russian Federation | 17,075,400 | 146,519,759 | 8.3 | Russian rouble (₽) (RUB) | Russian also see Languages of Russia | Head of State Vladimir Putin | 2009-06-16 (Informally, September 2006) | |||||
| India Republic of India | New Delhi | 3,287,240 | 1,284,480,000 | 364.4 | Indian rupee (₹) (INR) | Hindi (Devanagari script) English Also see Languages of India | Head of State | 2009-06-16 (Informally, September 2006) | ||||
| China People's Republic of China | Beijing | 9,640,011 | 1,374,820,000 | 139.6 | Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥) (CNY) | Standard Chinese[8] written in simplified characters see also languages of China | Head of State | 2009-06-16 (Informally, September 2006) | ||||
| South Africa Republic of South Africa | Pretoria (executive) Cape Town (legislative) Bloemfontein (judicial) | 1,221,037 | 58,048,332 | 42.4 | South African rand (R) (ZAR) | 12 languages | Head of State | 2010-12-24 | ||||
| Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt | Cairo | 1,010,408 | 105,231,000 | 103.56 | Egyptian pound (LE) (EGP) | Arabic | Head of State | 2024-01-01 | ||||
| Ethiopia Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | 1,104,300 | 105,163,988 | 92.7 | Ethiopian birr (BR) (ETB) | Afar Amharic Oromo Somali Tigrinya | Head of State | 2024-01-01 | ||||
| Iran Islamic Republic of Iran | Tehran | 1,648,195 | 79,011,700 | 48.0 | Iranian rial (Rl) (IRR) | Persian | Head of State Ali Khamenei | 2024-01-01 | ||||
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | 83,600 | 4,106,427 | 121 | UAE dirham (AED) | Arabic | Head of State Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | 2024-01-01 |
Saudi Arabia was invited to join at the 15th BRICS summit, but has not yet formalised its approval to become a BRICS member.[9]
While Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates were not admitted as members during the 15th BRICS summit, they were among 22 countries applying for membership. South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said “There is a second batch of countries that are going to be added [to] BRICS." This means that there are plans for further BRICS expansion and the following countries are possible candidates due to their applications for membership [10]
| Flag | Country | Capital | Area (km2) | Population (2016) | Density (/km2) | Currency | Leaders | Application Submitted when | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria People's Democratic Republic of Algeria | 2,381,741 | 44,700,000 | 17.7 | Algerian dinar (DZD) | Arabic | Head of State | 2022 (Expected to join in next expansion) | ||||||
| Bahrain Kingdom of Bahrain | Manama | 780 | 1,504,365 | 1,864 | Bahraini dinar (BHD) | Arabic | Head of State Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa | ||||||
| Bangladesh People's Republic of Bangladesh | 148,460 | 169,828,911 | 1,305 | Bangladeshi taka (BDT) | Bengali | Head of State and Government | 2023 | ||||||
| Belarus Republic of Belarus | Minsk | 207,595 | 9,498,700 | 45.8 | Belarusian rubel (Rbl) (BYR) | Belarusian Russian | Head of State Alexander Lukashenko | 2023 | |||||
| Bolivia Plurinational State of Bolivia | Sucre | 1,098,581 | 12,186,079 | 10.4 | Boliviano (BOB) | Head of State and Government | 2023 | ||||||
| Cuba Republic of Cuba | Havana | 109,884 | 10,985,974 | 101.8 | Cuban peso (CUP) | Spanish | Head of State | 2023 | |||||
| Kazakhstan Republic of Kazakhstan | Astana | 2,724,900 | 17,670,900 | 5.94 | Kazakhstani tenge (₸) (KZT) | Kazakh (National) Russian | Head of State | 2023 | |||||
| Kuwait State of Kuwait | Kuwait City | 17,818 | 4,294,621 | 200.2 | Kuwaiti dinar | Arabic | Head of State Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah | 2023 | |||||
| Palestine State of Palestine | Jerusalem (claimed) Ramallah | 6,020[11] < | -- Area should match List of countries and dependencies by area --> | 5,483,450 | 731 | Arabic | Head of State | 2023 | |||||
| Senegal Republic of Senegal | Dakar | 196,712 | 18,384,660 | 68.7 | West African CFA franc (XOF) | Wolof French Pulaar | Head of State | 2023 | |||||
| Thailand Kingdom of Thailand | Bangkok | 513,120 | 64,785,909 | 132.1 | Baht (฿) (THB) | Thai | Head of State and Government | ||||||
| Venezuela Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | Caracas | 916,445 | 30,518,260 | 33.74 | Spanish | Head of State and Government | 2023 | ||||||
| Vietnam Socialist Republic of Vietnam | Hanoi | 128,069 | 96,208,984 | 295 | Vietnamese đồng (₫) (VND) | Vietnamese | Head of State Nguyễn Phú Trọng (as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam) | 2023 |
In 2022, Argentina formally submitted an application for BRICS membership under Alberto Fernández's government. Argentina was invited to join at the subsequent 2023 summit, but the country declined the offer to join the bloc in the aftermath of Javier Milei's victory in that year's presidential election.[12]
In 2011, Indonesia considered the possibility of joining BRICS. In 2022 the country formally submitted an application, but Indonesian president Joko Widodo decided to not join the group and remove the application because it was considered a rushed decision. Widodo said that in a future he would probably reapply, but Indonesia is out for now.[13]